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Comments by FergusDuniho

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Game Courier Developer's Guide. Learn how to design and program Chess variants for Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Thu, May 6, 2021 11:53 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from Tue Feb 16 10:02 PM:

I have added the ability to use entirely custom piece sets in a game. These are defined in GAME Code and do not use an external PHP file. Here is some sample code I wrote:

// A demo of using multiple internal sets that do not match any set file.

// Name the sets you will use by assigning them to the $groupsets array.
// Use capitalized names for the sets. These do not match any file names.
setsystem groupsets array Abstract Alfaerie AlfaeriePNG Magnetic Motif;

// Define pieces in an array variable called mypieces.
// Start by creating an associative array of all pieces shared in common.
// The key should be a label, and the value should be a filename.
// A single line of code is broken into multiple lines of text for legibility.
set mypieces assoc 
  K "WKing.gif"   k "BKing.gif" 
  Q "WQueen.gif"  q "BQueen.gif" 
  R "WRook.gif"   r "BRook.gif" 
  B "WBishop.gif" b "BBishop.gif" 
  N "WKnight.gif" n "BKnight.gif" 
  P "WPawn.gif"   p "BPawn.gif";

// Set the $dir system variable to match the set, and modify filenames as needed.
if == pieceset Alfaerie:
  setsystem dir "/graphics.dir/alfaerie/";
  foreach (k v) #mypieces:
    setelem mypieces #k tolower #v;
  next;
elseif == pieceset AlfaeriePNG:
  setsystem dir "/graphics.dir/alfaeriePNG/";
  foreach (k v) #mypieces:
    setelem mypieces #k tolower str_replace .gif .png #v;
  next;
elseif == pieceset Magnetic:
  setsystem dir "/graphics.dir/magnetic/";
elseif == pieceset Motif:
  setsystem dir "/graphics.dir/motif/";
else:
  // Have a default set for when the set does not match any allowed set.
  // The default is Abstract.
  setsystem dir "/graphics.dir/abstract/";
endif;

// Now that the pieces are defined, copy the #mypieces array to $pieces
setsystem pieces #mypieces;

🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sun, Apr 25, 2021 02:00 AM UTC in reply to Jean-Louis Cazaux from Sat Apr 24 10:59 AM:

You can use any string, not just individual letters. I recommend sticking to short strings of the 26 letters identified in ASCII, so that players have an easier time typing notation.


Interactive diagrams. Diagrams that interactively show piece moves.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Wed, Apr 21, 2021 03:13 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 02:13 PM:

It's easier for an editor, but you can download images to your computer and use the file manager to upload them to a directory.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Wed, Apr 21, 2021 02:09 PM UTC:

When I used alfaerie pieces for an interactive diagram, I put all the images I needed in the directory for the game.


Home page of The Chess Variant Pages. Homepage of The Chess Variant Pages.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sun, Apr 11, 2021 12:45 AM UTC in reply to Mad Chess from Sat Apr 10 10:45 PM:

The name Mad Chess is already in use by another variant, but maybe you could distinguish yours by calling it M.A.D. Chess or Mermaids, Angels and Dragons Chess. You can create a page for your game. You might want to create a link page to your Steam app page, or you might want to create a page describing the game's rules. See How to Design and Post Your Own Game for further details.


The ShortRange Project ZIP file. Missing description[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, Apr 10, 2021 08:19 PM UTC in reply to Ben Reiniger from 03:25 PM:

Hmm, the folder is mis-specified. It links to /membergraphics/MZtheshortrangep/, but the real folder is /membergraphics/MZshortrange-project/.

I just corrected that.

Since Fergus just fixed this,

My earlier comment about fixing something was about fixing the ability to upload files.


@ Kevin Pacey[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Apr 9, 2021 01:25 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 01:19 PM:

The Browse button has different names depending on the browser, because its name is not fixed in the HTML. It says "Browse ..." on Firefox, but it says "Choose Files" on Edge or Chrome and presumably other Chromium-based browsers.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Apr 9, 2021 01:19 PM UTC in reply to Kevin Pacey from 12:22 AM:

I assume the browser button is located in the extreme lower left of my screen (shows how little I know about modern computers).

I never directed you to use a Browser button. The Browse button, which has a verb name, not a noun name, is in a form on the script for uploading files. The button on the extreme lower left of your screen is your Start menu, which is part of Windows and has nothing to do with uploading files here.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Apr 9, 2021 01:15 PM UTC in reply to Kevin Pacey from 12:22 AM:

When I select an image and click Open, a window appears showing my picture.

If I right-click on an image and select Open from the context menu, that is what happens. When you click on Browse, it will open up a file requester. When you left-click on a file, its name will show up where it says "File name:" at the bottom. In the bottom right of the requester are two buttons that say Open and Cancel. The Open button is the one to use to select your file. Alternately, you could right-click on the image and choose Select from the context menu, or you could double left-click on the image.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Thu, Apr 8, 2021 11:58 PM UTC in reply to Kevin Pacey from 11:10 PM:

I selected my picture from my laptop computer's files by highlighting/selecting it

I don't believe it works that way. First, click on the Browse button. Select an image and click Open. The name of your file will then show up to the right of the Browse button. Then click Upload.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Thu, Apr 8, 2021 04:53 PM UTC in reply to Kevin Pacey from 05:06 AM:

The value you have stored for PathToImageFile is "C:\Users\User1\Pictures\KPacey.jpg". This refers to a file on your computer, but it should refer to a file on our website. I have just enabled the ability to upload and manage files for your person information page. This uses the file manager that is also used for submissions. From your personal information, look for the edit menu when you are signed in. This will let you upload your image. Then use the URL it gives you for that image when you enter the URL for your image.


Chu Shogi. Historic Japanese favorite, featuring a multi-capturing Lion.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Wed, Apr 7, 2021 05:26 PM UTC in reply to Daniel Zacharias from 04:43 PM:

I'm having a problem with this preset where, when viewed from the second player's perspective, all the pieces but the kings are shown as black circles.

Okay, that's fixed.


The History of Chess Variants. A brief history of Chess variants from Chaturanga to the 21st century.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Tue, Apr 6, 2021 02:38 AM UTC in reply to Jean-Louis Cazaux from Sun Apr 4 05:49 PM:

Jim Png is not saying that chess has been invented in China.

I have modified the text to make this clear.

What is explained here is that xiangqi had predecessors as a game, deep in ancient history. This is known and recognised by modern historians.

That's a more general and less controversial claim than saying which games these might be. Even H.J.R. Murray would agree with this.

The fact that Janggi, which is not known before the 16th century, has no river is of course not a proof at all against a relation between liubo and xiangqi!

That point is torn out of context. I didn't just say that Janggi has no river. I pointed out that no regional Chess variant in Asia has a river except for Xiangqi. That is stronger evidence against a relationship between Liu Bo and Xiangqi than just the absence of the river in Janggi. Moreover, this is in the context of pointing out the lack of evidence for any relationship between Liu Bo and Xiangqi. I cannot disprove a relationship between them, but I am satisfied that I have made a good inductive case against seriously entertaining the idea of a relationship between them.

Liubo disappeared just when xiangqi started to grow and this deserves some further studies.

Sometimes an invasive species causes the extinction of a local species. In this case, a foreign import could have proven more popular than the native game. So, timing alone is an insufficient reason for thinking there is a connection between them.


Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Mon, Apr 5, 2021 12:39 PM UTC in reply to Jean-Louis Cazaux from 09:24 AM:

Yes, this is explained in the User's Guide.

https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/userguide.html#takeback


About Game Courier. Web-based system for playing many different variants by email or in real-time.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sun, Apr 4, 2021 10:48 PM UTC in reply to Dead Account from 07:05 PM:

Okay, I added the two board images, and I paired them with each other. If you're going to program, I imagine it would make most sense to use the Custom shape and the logical movement functions.


🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sun, Apr 4, 2021 02:32 PM UTC:

Before I add these to the site, I recommend that you use a darker color for the coordinates. Yellow is hard to read on a white background.


The History of Chess Variants. A brief history of Chess variants from Chaturanga to the 21st century.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Apr 2, 2021 10:10 PM UTC:

While I had Kindle Unlimited, I was reading a book about the history of Xiangqi. Since that subscription ended today, I made sure to read what this book had to say about the origins of Xiangqi and incorporated that into this page.


Game Courier History. History of the Chess Variants Game Courier PBM system.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Wed, Mar 31, 2021 12:23 AM UTC:

Since the Compounds group had only two sets in it that didn't even match up, and one belonged to the Chess group anyway, I removed its members and replaced them with four new piece sets that do match, more or less. These four are drawn from the Abstract, Alfaerie, Magnetic, and Motif pieces. They are meant to consist only of pieces that can be made by using or recombining standard Chess piece images, particularly for Magnetic and Motif. Each one currently has all double compounds of King, Rook, Bishop, and Knight. The Amazon is the only triple compound. Compound pieces have two or three letter labels indicating the pieces they are compounds of. There is some redundancy regarding the Queen, using both q/Q and rb/RB for the Queen, since Fusion Chess uses the latter. This also carries over to the labels for the Amazon, which are qn/QN and rbn/RBN. I would like to add Ferz and Wazir pieces, some compounds with these, and some more triple compounds with these and/or the King. I'm still working on Ferz and Wazir designs. Some alternatives are to use smaller Rooks and Bishops, to mix the Rook and Bishop with Pawns, or to place the numeral 1 on modified Rooks and Bishops.


Jetan. Play Edgar Rice Burrough's Jetan (Martian Chess).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Tue, Mar 30, 2021 03:25 PM UTC in reply to Greg Strong from 01:17 PM:

The legacy presets and piece sets will need to remain, however, because they are games that have been played using them, but they are no longer linked from this page.

Since those presets did not make use of any settings files, the logs making use of them already contain everything they need, and nothing need be kept of them apart from those logs.


Game Courier History. History of the Chess Variants Game Courier PBM system.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Mon, Mar 29, 2021 11:08 PM UTC:

I added themes for Storm the Ivory Tower and for Omega Chess. For the latter, I added the ability to erase non-space when using tiled background images. This let me use tiled background images for Omega Chess themes. These themes do not print the coordinates for the corner spaces, but they do show the coordinates if you hover the mouse over them.


🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, Mar 27, 2021 06:25 PM UTC:

There are now themes for Chinese Chess, Janggi, and Chessgi. Chessgi themes will work for any game using the same type of board and a set from the Chess group. The Chess themes now work with any 8x8 game using a set from the Chess group instead of testing for a subset of the pieces in Chess. There are also Chess-Squares and Compounds-Squares for boards of varying dimensions built from the square shape or a 100x100 tile. These work with sets from the Chess and Compounds groups respectively.


🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Sat, Mar 27, 2021 01:54 AM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from Fri Mar 26 09:34 PM:

There are now Chess themes, and these will be used for any game on an 8x8 board whose pieces on the board are a subset of the pieces in Chess.


🕸💡📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Mar 26, 2021 09:34 PM UTC:

I have begun adding the ability to create themes for games. A theme is a collection of settings that can be chosen together for the purpose of changing the appearance of a game. This makes changing the appearance of a game quicker and easier than doing it one setting at a time. When themes are available for a game, they will appear in a drop down select list just above where you can change individual settings. Any member may create and save a theme by going to the Customize section of the preset. Customize it how you want, enter a theme name, and click Save Theme. It will then be available for that game.

So far, I have made themes only for Shogi. I plan to do some Chess themes later and set things up for presets that use the same equipment as Chess to use the same themes. I also plan to provide the option for games to use the themes for another game instead of having its own. This will come in handy when different games use the same board and pieces and so can share the same themes. And I plan to set things up so that players can create themes without leaving their games. But I've done enough work on it for today, and what I've done today seems to be working.


Game Courier Logs. View the logs of games played on Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸📝Fergus Duniho wrote on Fri, Mar 26, 2021 12:06 PM UTC in reply to Armin Liebhart from 10:28 AM:

That's now fixed. The function for the Waffle, which moves as a Wazir or an Alfil, was using the W function, which is for the Woody Rook, instead of the WZ function, which is for the Wazir. Since the Woody Rook moves as a Wazir or a Dabbabah, it took a situation like this for the bug to be noticed.


Pandemonium (Surajang修羅場). Capablanca chess + Crazyhouse.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Wed, Mar 24, 2021 10:18 PM UTC in reply to Daphne Snowmoon from 06:57 PM:

I can't upload images to the page. What is the reason?

For some reason, the group write bit for the directory was off. This matters, because I recently changed the owner of everything to chessvariants, but php runs as apache. I checked the script, and it does "chmod 0775" on a new directory. So, I don't know how it happened. I tested one of my own directories with the same problem. After turning the group write bit on, I was able to upload files to it. I also tested a file with the same name as the one you tried to upload. It uploaded as 001.png, because the Korean characters were ignored. So, you should avoid using Korean letters in file names.


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