| Author | Message | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Some games get updates and/or new variants added long after they have been published. 1. Make sure you have the latest updates of the games you have downloaded. The quickest way to get an overview over updates is to click (!) the headings texts: CHESS VARIANTS or NON-CHESS GAMES on the User's Corner / Games List page. 2. The check the latest Version Numbers of games written by me, Karl Scherer, go to the corresponding list in http:/karl.kiwi.gen.nz . 3. The game Bank Chess, which I published way back in May 2000, just got four new variants. (invented by my friend Denis Van Straten). The new version will be published in Zillions with the next release of new games. If you want to have the new version now, go to http:/karl.kiwi.gen.nz | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games Alive Angle Chess Hydra Chess Saltwater just got new updates (6/1/2001). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games Better Pawns Clingon Clingon II Ducado Jugs Jugs II just got new updates (14/1/2001). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games Laser Laser II Laser III Sticky Chess just got new updates (22/1/2001). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Pento (now version 2.1, version 3.0 coming up next week) - Saltwater (now version 5.0) - Sticky Chess (now version 1.2) just got new updates (28/1/2001). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Clingon (now version 1.4) - Clingon II (now version 1.5) - Pento (now version 3.0) just got new updates (4/2/2001). | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the game - Capetown (now version 1.1) just got a new update (20/2/2001). | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the game - Pearl Puzzle (now version 2.0) just got a new update (3/3/2001). (Bug fixed, plus 4 additional variants!) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Nutts (now version 1.3) - Pearl Puzzle (now version 2.2) just got new updates (11/3/2001). ========================================== Bug Report: My new game "Russian Checkers" contains an error (captured pieces should be only removed from the board after the last partial move). The game with the correct rules (V2.0) will be published 18/3/2001. (or get it now from my webpages: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz) The current version will become a variant. Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Max (now version 2.0) - Russian Checkers (now version 2.0) just got new updates (18/3/2001). | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the game - Square The Square (now version 16.2) just got new updates (25/3/2001). There will be another update next week. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the game - Square The Square (now version 18.1) just got a new update (26/3/2001). (now 30 variants). That's the update I expected to be available next week...Thanks, Ed van Zon, to put it up so quickly! | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Square The Square (now version 18.2) - Square The Square II (now version 1.1) just got new updates (1 April 2001). | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Bug report Square The Square II, April 2. Please do not download version 1.1 (April 1), because it does not allow squares to be deleted. Corrected version 1.2 will be available soon. It allows to create and delete squares up 19x19. Bigger squares will be possible with Zillions V1.3 . | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the corrected version of game - Square The Square II (now version 1.2) is available now (since April 4). It allows to create and delete squares up 19x19. | ||
| Fergus Duniho (Fduniho)
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Fusion Chess and Metamorphin' Fusion Chess were recently updated with new sound effects and code optimization. | ||
| Robert A. Kraus (Bobkraus)
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The recent Neutron Variants has just been updated to include 3 more new variants. Atoms has been updated to combine all 8 variants into one file (formerly 3 files) which now requires Zillions version 1.2 or higher. No new variants however. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Saltwater has just been updated (1 May 2001), now version 5.1 . (More maths added) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Five Dice (now version 3.2) - Maths: Addition (now version 1.1) - Maths: Subtraction (now version 1.1) just got new updates (13 May 2001). | ||
| Patrick S. Duff (Pduff)
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Go-Moku-9 (Go-Moku for up to 9 players, with 12 variants, including several Pente-like forms) has just been updated: Now requires Zillions of Games v1.3. Win condition improved using new "(not stone)" syntax. Right-clicking now displays cascaded selection menus; some users could not get right-click to work in earlier versions. Added "move restriction" option (turned on by default) which allows Zillions to play better. Miscellaneous minor updates to readme.txt file, help text and graphics. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the game "Scribble" will have a new update on June 24, then being version "V1.3". (Improved graphics). Or download it now from my webpage: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz . | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note : - game "Hnefatafl" just got a new version containing a board with nicer colours. -"Scribble" will have a new update on July 15, then being version "V1.6". (Improved graphics, two boards available via 'switch piece set' option). -"Scribble II" will have a new update on July 15, then being version "V1.4" (updated July 8!). (Improved graphics, two boards available via 'switch piece set' option). Also coming up game "Unplay Chess", by the way. Or download them now from my webpage: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz . | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note : The game "Planes" just got a new version (V2.0). New variants with black stealth planes flying twice the speed of the other planes have been introduced! Happy playing, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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The game "Comacube" just got six new options; the selection screen is now full and contains 12 options. (I.e. it refers to 12 zrf files). Please download the new version. (No new version number!) ............................... Next week a similar collection of (easier) puzzles using the 4x4x4 cube will be published, called "Fourcube". Happy playing, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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The games "Esher" and "Esher II" have a bug. (If "ITERATE ON" is selected, only the number values with a plus in front are processed). Next week there will be corrected versions (V1.1) out for both games. Also there will be a third edition "Esher III". Cheers, Karl P.S. My homepage does not show the games of the last month because I am still overseas in Europe. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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From Sept 1 on all "Escher" games (there will be five then!) will have a randomized variant included. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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My "old" Nutts solitaire game just has got improved graphics and sound. (20. October 2001). ...... Furthermore I have corrected an (unimportant) small flaw in the board-design of "Globetrotter". Happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games - Draw (now version 1.1) - Decomino (now version 1.1) just got new updates (11/11/2001). The game "Draw" was sluggish, but I have been able to speed it up TENFOLD. (By avoiding position flags on the big board and by stating a zone at the start of a move block; Jeff Mallet will add corresponding documentation for game efficiency concerning this and other methods in the next Zillions release.) By the same methods, the game Decomino has been sped up and enhanced. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Please note that the games just got new updates (17/11/2001): - Decomino(now version 4.0) 6 VARIANTS ADDED! - Square The Square II (now version 1.3) MANY "SQUARE THE RECTANGLE" CHALLENGES ADDED (see game description). Happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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The Discussion Board has not been running since 8 Dec 2001. Therefore a lot of updates may have gone unnoticed. Below I have supplied a list of all my updates. Most remarkable is the fact that all backtracking programs are now 50% faster, hence use 30% less moves to find a solution. (With new Zillions release coming out soon: unlimited number of moves!! So all problems will be solved by the computer!) So please compare the variant numbers with yours and update your games accordingly! Alive (V3.0): Wrapped border option introduced. Wrapped border is now default. '30-generations' button and 'run forever' button added. 'Draw-by-repetition' now made impossible. Variants now show different setups, not piece sets. Alive II (V2.0): Wrapped border option introduced. Wrapped border is now default. '30-generations' button and 'run forever' button added. Backtrack (V2.3) : 50% faster, 30% less moves per solution. Cat&Mouse III (V1.3) : images referred to Cat&Mouse2 files; now corrected Cat&Mouse For Two (V2.2) : you only have to click the "START" button (which was the "PASS" button before) once now. Draw (V2.0) has been dramatically enhanced: - four new line-fill options added. - dotted-line option added - white centers of stencils now paint transparent. - 19 variants added each displaying a different background Fivedice (V3.3) more user-friendly: you only have to click the "PASS" button once. G-Backtrack (V1.2) : 50% faster, 30% less moves per solution. G-Primes (V1.2) : some files did point to the Reptiles directory P-Backtrack (V1.3) : 50% faster, 30% less moves per solution. P-Primes (V1.1) : some files did point to the Reptiles directory Pento-Solver (V1.4) : 50% faster, 30% less moves per solution. Reptiles (V10.0): brought in line with newest research The six 'Freeplay' options now allow DELETING a placed tile just by clicking its squares (see game description)!! Also: bugs fixed. Reptiles II (V4.0): brought in line with newest research Also: The six 'Freeplay' options now allow DELETING a placed tile just by clicking its squares (see game description)!! Scribble (V2.0) and Scribble II (V2.0) : - Letters put back into the bag are made available again. - Shuffling of letters on your rack now possible. - You only have to click the "PASS" button once. - Both games 'Scribble' and 'Scribble II' crashed under Windows2000, resolved now. - Board design improved. Turing Machine (V2.2) : Code simplified, setup in variant 3 corrected Y-Backtrack (V1.2) : 50% faster, 30% less moves per solution. Y-Primes (V3.1) : 7 Primes on 50x50 board added, bugs corrected | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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New updates (24 Feb 2002): - Reptiles II : v4.3 - Subway 4 : v1.1 Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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My new game "Fivethousand", (the original version 1.0 just published), has had an overhaul and is now version 1.1, available at Zillions from 29 April 2002, or from my website http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz from 22 April. Please read the new games text, because the win condition has slightly changed. It is now better, and identical to the traditional version. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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My new game "Calculator", (the original version just published), has now all buttons working and is available at Zillions from 6 Mai 2002, or from my website http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz from 30 April. Please read the new games text, because the effect of repeatingly pressing '+' and '*' without keying in a number in between has changed. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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The following games just got updates (August 2, 2002): Scribble II (now V2.1) Stick 3D (now V1.1) Simple Chess (now V1.1) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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"Rubic's Cube" now has version V1.1 out (update August 10). There is also an update (V2.0) of "Ducado" coming out one week later (2 variants added, better graphics, code simplified.) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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My games "Squabble" and "Squabble Solo" just got new updates (I have added a piece set of letters with values showing). Both games are version 1.1 now. Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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My game "First - Do It Yourself" just got a new update (now V1.1) on my website http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz (30 Sep 02); the update will be on the Zillions webseite next week. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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My games "Train" and "Train II" just got new updates (19 Jan 2003). The graphics of the shunts has been improved. Note that these two updates have not been notified on the Zillions homepage ! So please keep on reading the discussion board to make sure you get all updates in the future! Thanks, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Important updates for Knots II and Knots III ! These games have got each about a dozen additional types of string manipulation and are therefore much more fun, more intuitive and easier to play. These games (and also the new Knots 4) will most probably see further improvements in the future. ........... The bad new is that the first game I wrote, namely the original game "Knots", has the least features and will not likely be updated a great deal any more, since it uses the maximum macro expansion for Zillions already. (The double-bend pieces used there need a lot of code!) Hence the new features will NOT appear in the 'Knots' game. Feedback please send to karl@kiwi.gen.nz Thank you. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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I have just discovered the existence of the 'solution' command (a bit embarrasing after creating more than 300 Zillions games). I have now updated all of my programs accordingly which had solutions files (zsg) attached. I added 'solution...' statements to the variants, so you can now select Help/Solution from the menu to see a solution if one is given. (Unfortunately, Zillions allows only one solution to see, even if there are several given in the game directory.) The games concerned are (out next week, or download from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz): Domino Puzzles (V1.2) G-Primes (V1.3) Max (V2.2) P-Primes (V1.2) Reptiles (V10.2) Reptiles II (V4.4) Reptiles III (V1.3) Square The Square (V18.3) Sticks (V1.1) Tilt 2 (V1.1) For you authors who want to use the 'solution' command it is important to know that once you have used this command for the default variant, you HAVE TO USE IT ALSO for all other variants. If a variant does not have a solution, you use the empty string for this variant: (solution "") If you do not do that, the solution for the default variant will automatically show up when menu option Help/Solution is selected from any of the variants, and this does not make sense. | ||
| David J Bush (Twixter)
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>(Unfortunately, Zillions allows only one solution to see, even if there are several given in the game directory.) Yes, I wish future Zillions would allow solutions with a tree structure. A good puzzle usually has several interesting variations. Here is a link for a generic text syntax for storing games or positions: http://www.red-bean.com/sgf/ | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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This is to notify you that the following games have had updates which were unfortunately NOT mentioned on the Zillions home page: Bubbles II Cat and Mouse Cat and Mouse 2 Cat and Mouse 3 Cat and Mouse 4 Cat and Mouse for Two The reason for these updates is the standardization of game names (so that they do not use ambersand '&' or comma ',' anymore. This allows the new Zillions menu system to call them (see select-by-grp.zrf updates). Also, it is strongly recommended that the game name is identical to its associated directory name. This also makes the menu system easier to maintain. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Here is a challenge for you.../ gadgets wanted The latest update of my game "Wireworlds" now contains as varaints a Binary Adder as well as a Binary Multiplier. I have never seen anything like this published. Have a look, they are fun to watch. In principle my Binary Adder allows numbers to be of ANY size (given that the input wires are long enough to carry them in). My machines might not be the smallest or fastest possible, however. I challenge anyone to create a binary adder which is even smaller than mine (mine fits into a rectangle 21x39) or has a faster throughput time (transit time for my adder: 56 cycles). Also, I would be interested in any other interesting new gadgets you came up with in Wireworlds (my email: karl@kiwi.gen.nz). Let your creativity run wild! Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Wireworlds: My smallest Binary Adder is now 21x34 small and has a transit time of only 50 cycles. Can you improve on this? | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Wireworlds: I managed to shrink the Binary Adder even more, namely to 20x29; it now has a transit time of only 48 cycles. Can you improve on this? | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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"Scrabl", "Scribble" and "Scribble 2" updates: Important updates coming out 6 October (the ones at 27 September are not the final ones): - all letters now have values printed on them - two letter sets and 6 board colourings available now via "switch piece set" menu option. - shuffling of the letters on your rack is now fully implemented. Updates now available from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz or after October 6 from the Zillions site. Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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"Cryptic Crosswords": improved freeplay Variant "Freeplay" of game "Cryptic Crosswords" is the last variant. It is the variant that helps you to construct new crosswords. After V2.0 this variant somehow created an "too many moves generated" error. I have corrected this problem and added a new feature (automatic number sequencing). A new version (2.1) is now available on my website (http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz) and will be available on the Zillions site as an update next Sunday (Jan 17, 2004). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Dramatic improvements in games "Lattice" (V5.0) and "Isolattice" (V3.0): (out next weekend or get it from my web site: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz Lattice: - alternative piece set (=colour scheme) - Fill now also works for smallest triangles. - directional arrow buttons for 'remote' drawing. - more variants - bugs corrected - all buttons now on the left border. Isolattice: - alternative piece set (=colour scheme) - directional arrow buttons for 'remote' drawing. (Isolattice Light only due to Zillions program size limitations!) - more variants - bugs corrected | ||
| Ronald W Brierley (Ronaldwb)
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I have been hoping that the data base of all the Zillions games and puzzles contains a field for recording the date of the latest version of the program, and that this could be used with the other search facilities now available to find a short list of recent updates or creations. A search entry might then be of the form 'update' 03-05-04 of whatever date format is chosen. This query should then produce a list of all the new or updated programs from and after the chosen date. This would eliminate the need for any separate listing by implementers of their own particular updates or creations. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Most important update yet for Wireworlds! If you have never or rarely updated the Wireworlds game, now is the time to do it! Now in its 34th reincarnation (Version 34.4), it just got much better graphics, and also several alternative piece sets (like glass balls!) It has now 72 variants with about 200 diagrams! There are also some new WORLD-FIRST findings included, like the two 3-tick flip-flops, one (the first ever) found by Karl Scherer, the other by Nyles Heise. Various researchers have been trying to find them for 15 years. Have fun trying them out! ........... My game "Branches" has got an important update, which is now available from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz or from the Zillions home page from 21 Nov 04. (Now about 50 piece sets). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Wireworlds V34.5 is available from my web site http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz (16 Nov 04). Some naughty bugs corrected ;-) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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"Wireworlds" game dominates world info! Read on... As confirmend by experts, the Zillions Wireworlds game (and my web pages on it, which mirrors all its results) is now the world's dominant source of information on the classic cellular automaton Wireworld. It is now in its version 35.2 , which contains several new findings. Have fun playing! Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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73 additional variants in NUTTS game! I suppose that will keep you busy over the Christmas period.. I have given my NUTTS game a big overhaul: - 73 variants added - all variants now have solutions associated with them. - you can now easily redesign the yellow board (after deleting the green bar), see game text for details. - after you have placed a NUTTS tile, the green bar will now automatically slide to the next tile. Not upwards compatible: The downside is that previous zsg files you might have created with NUTTS will not run anymore. The game will be available on the Zillions site from 12 Dec 2004; or download it NOW from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz Have fun solving the puzzles! Cheers, Karl P.S. more variants are planned; watch this space. | ||
| Keith Carter (Keithc)
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12/26/04 Wow Karl, you have been busy. Looks like you just updated more than 60 of your games. Thank you for all the updating work. Ed van Zon - thanks for all the posting work. Everyone else - buried in Karl's avalanche of game updates is an update for Cannon. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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On my latest updates: Most updates are minor because they concern the allowing or preventing of board-flipping when the "Switch sides" option is selected from the tool bar, which might be totally uninteresting for you anyway. Hence you can really ignore most updates. However, here is the list of my games which have been changed in other, more important ways and hence really deserve a new download: Domina Karl's Cube Laser Laser II Laser III Laser 4 Nutts Saltwater Scrabl Scribble Scribble II Wireworld Cheers to you all, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Re my previous message: add to this list the game SOCCER, because it got three new variants with enlarged boards (for easier play). | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Two new SOLVER programs: My new game "Big Mazes" includes the very first maze-solving program in Zillions. It not only solves the maze, but also displays the shortest way from start to finish! My game "Square The Square Solver" (out next weekend, or get it from my web site http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz) solves square-the-square problems and square-the-rectangle problems (under the 'nowhere-neat' condition). Cheers to you all and a happy New Year! Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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"Square The Square II, V3.0" (out this weekend) now contains (as 32 additional variants) solutions to all 'square-the-rectangle' problems for all rectangles smaller than 50x50. There may be rectangles with solutions out there that are not included. If you find a new one, plese send it to me and I can include it in a future version. (I just found the new 17x43 solution with a little help from the new "Square The Square Solver" program, which comes out this weekend, 9 Jan 2005.) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Square The Square II has gone from 1 to 65! Forgot to mention: The game "Square The Square II" lately has gone from having only 1 variant to having 65 variants! | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Mathematical Proofs found with help of Zillions! The games 'Square The Square' and 'Square The Square II' now contain a zip file each which contain proofs for two different mathematical theorems found by me connected with these games. The theorems basically say that any big enough rectangle has a nowhere-neat tiling with squares. The Zillions games were a big help in solving some of the problems in connection with these theorems. A nice example of interplay between games and mathematics. ................................................. Game 'Square The Square II' now has 130 variants and contains a comprehensive collection of nowhere-neat tilings, the best available on the net or anywhere else. Still solutions even for rectangles smaler than 50x50 are being found. If you find one, send it to me. Happy puzzling! Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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'Floor Tilings' will have important update. The game is a tool to create repetitive patterns with just a few keystrokes. Its bucket fill function is still limited in that you can colour only white or empty areas, but you cannot change the colour of coloured areas. This will be fixed with the next update at May 1 insofar as the bucket fill will paint white any coloured area you click. (give it outlines first!) You may then re-colour this new white area in any colour you wish. You can get the new version 2.0 from my web site now at http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Important "Floor Tiling" update: Version 3.0 of this tool is out now with lots of improved features: - many new variants (example tilings) added (now 94 variants, more in next update!) - additional copy-type LINE FROM-TO; useful for line drawings etc. - option 'colour all empty tiles' replaces previous option 'empty => white'. It colours all empty positions with the selected primary colour. - colour 'white' is now default instead of 'transparent'. Click 'change piece set' button to turn white into transparent. - displacements can now be up to 16 units large. - several bugs corrected. The zip file now has size > 4MB and hence takes a while to download. Note that any zsg's created with Floor Tilings V2.0 will not be upwards compatible, but you can try the following to make a zsg compatible: edit the game title in the zsg from the old 'Floor Tiles' to the new, corrected 'Floor Tilings'. All or most of your zsg may still run. Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Floor Tiling update 24 May 05: zip > 8 Megabytes! This new tool has been further improved and contains now more than 180 variants (example tilings). The variants include all known nowhere-neat tilings of the plane (at least those tilings that can be drawn with this tool) using only two prototiles. If you find any new such tilings that are not covered by the variants, you can send my your zsgs so I can include them in the next update. Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Games Adec-dia and Barrot have got new versions. I write this because repeated (weekly) updates are not visible on the Zillions home page. Many improved Adec-dia solutions have been found by Alfred Pfeiffer and me, making the variants more challenging, since the maximum length of path to achieve has been increased, some of them dramatically. Also, game Barrot had got 14 more variants (most probably with many more to follow). P.S. There will also be another update for Stick Sequence next weekend (or download it now from my web site http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz). Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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Game 'Barrot' now had a major revamp: - a few random variants (had only fixed setups before), hence virtually unlimited possibilities. - now more than 50 variants - from-positions of blue and red bar now marked during the whole game - graphics improved. Happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| Keith Carter (Keithc)
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The graphics and documentation for QuadWrangle have been updated. The piece graphics are done in the more saturated style that Zillions 2 adopted for the games that came with it. The board is now done in the style of a hand held device. I had intended for Kubatoo to be my last effort and went to extra effort to go out on a high note. However, I have continued to stop by the Zillions site every Saturday and I do try every game posted and read every message posted. Well that has worked as a gentle tug that has finally pulled me back into a creative cycle and therefore submissions. I have a few games in the final stages of play testing that should appear over the next month or so. Keith | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
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All four KNOTS games have got much more realistic "ropes" and more realistic sounds now! Worth downloading. | ||
| Mats W (Kålroten)
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I just wanted to point out how remarkably effective the tweaking of the values of squares is, as in the updated versaion of Halatafl, that will be published tomorrow. Earlier I could beat Halatafl, but seldom anymore. Now it tends to attack on its stongest wing (where the piece majority is) and defend on its weaker. It now tends to keep defensive pieces on the first rank. In the image below move directions from the important squares have been added, and dummy pieces have been added to the extraneous positions (so that no piece can go there). The computer, as black, will now tend to operate on the right wing, and refrain from moving the two important leftmost defensive (and counter-attacking) pieces on the left wing. If these are moved, he will often move put new pieces there. The tendency towards repetition of moves is strongly reduced, as the computer now has goals within its move horizon, namely to move his pieces to stronger squares. It is surprising how easy it is to strongly improve the engine's play in this way, and teach positional knowledge to it.  | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt)
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Could you elaborate on what you mean by "tweaking of the values of squares"? I assume you are creating multiple pieces per square dependent upon square location to create a board weighting. Is that what you mean? Regards, -- Greg | ||
| Mats W (Kålroten)
|
In this particular example a square on the margin has three movements. I just add extra possible move directions (i.e. links) from these squares. These move directions goes to invisible squares outside the board. But the piece cannot go there anyway because it is blocked by a dummy piece. Nevertheless, the engine sees these squares as more powerful while they have more freedom of moves. Thus the engine tries to occupie these squares. This makes him go forward and attack in a very human way, or make defensive moves that are not merely short-sighted. So it improves the play considerably. In this particular case there is a strategical imbalance already in the opening. This is probably why this tweaking makes such a big difference. Earlier the engine, as black, often weakened its position on the left wing, creating a corridor for the enemy to attack the corner square. Now he avoids this. Moreover, as the corner square was beyond the move-horizon he didn't make consistent operations on the wing. But now he tries to conquer those "stronger" squares before the corner square. But as the corner-square then gets within the horizon, he continues his attack. Earlier the engine often moved important defensive pieces up from the first rank, as these squares are "weaker" than the second rank positions, as the latter have four move directions. But now I have given four move directions also to the c and e squares on the first rank. So the engine sees no motive to move these defensive pieces, except if there is a good reason. | ||
| Mats W (Kålroten)
|
Correction: in Halatafl the squares on the margin have two freedom of moves and the others three, since pieces cannot go backwards. Mats | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt)
|
Thanks for the explanation. I've seen the technique of using multiple "add"'s for a non-mobile piece to increase its value, but I've not seen your "tweaking" technique of creating additional (immobilized) directions from key board locations. The two techniques would seem to be complementary as they provide a means to do piece weighting and board weighting, respectively. I find it interesting that Zillions considers potential movements even though they are blocked. Regards, -- Greg | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
My game 'Area Solo' got 22 new variants. (out 19 Dec or download it now from my web site http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz) These 22 new variants are of the type 'double take', and the first of this type with fixed setup. 'Double take' means you can reuse some positions of an older rectangle when you create a new rectangle. All variants come with solutions. Also new in Area Solo: - the player can now DELETE an existing rectangle by clicking a position twice. This makes it much easier to play. - solutions of several older variants improved. Happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
...and ten more variants fo "Area Solo" for Xmas. (now 66 variants altogether). Also: the solutions of many old variants have been improved by me and the amazing solver Alfred Pfeiffer. Download now from my web page: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz or wait for the next Zillions games update. Merry Christmas to you all! | ||
| Mats W (Kålroten)
|
I've already altered the rules for ShamanicChess. The shaman can now only make "one move per trance-state." The Zillions engine then plays much, much, better. But it's also a better game, as such. However, I retain the older rule as a variant. I've also managed to convince the engine to make castling moves, by adding links from the squares where the kings stand on, and surrounding squares. This makes the kings feel uneasy on these squares and the engine chooses to castle. Castling is very, very important in chess. I've also tweaked the pawns to put themselves in good defensive positions so that it can handle openings without being immediately outfoxed by a cunning chessplayer. All in all, the engine plays Shamanic Chess better than regular chess (if not Karl's opening routines are used). You can download the new Shamanic Chess here. (Oh dear, oh dear, I think I'm becoming a Zillions junkie). | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
I have just written some powerful Zillions games which generate large mazes (50x50), which you can then try to solve or get them solved by the computer. They are ready to be downloaded at the Zillions home page after next weekend or download them now from my web site (http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz/swindex2.html). Short descriptions: Big Mazes V2.0 : 13 (randomized) types of mazes; coloured no-go zones (designs) can be added to your liking to each type. Big Mazes V2.1 : 31 (randomized) types of mazes; coloured no-go zones (designs) can be added to your liking to each type. Double Mazes V1.0 : 13 (randomized) types of mazes; coloured no-go zones (designs) can be added to your liking to each type. This game creates two entangled mazes at a time. In one of the two mazes the ball has to be moved from the bottom entrance to the top exit, then in the second maze the ball has to be moved from the left entrance to the exit at the right border. Is this idea new? I have never seen something like this published in a book or newpaper. Enjoy the play and enjoy constructing your own mazes with these tools! Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
Big Mazes II (V3.0) is now a suit of maze design tool with 83 (!) variants: In contrast to what I stated in my previous message, 'Double Mazes' will not be published as a separate game, but rather as one of several (three at the moment) options on a new SELECTION SCREEN in Big Mazes II, which offers you: - Standard Mazes - Self-Intersecting Mazes - Double Mazes each with many variants and fully customizable with coloured tiles defining no-go areas. Big Mazes II will be out at the Zillions web site next Sunday (17 Sep 06) or download it now from my website (http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz/swindex2.html). Cheers, Karl Scherer | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
Big Mazes II now has 205 variants! Big Mazes II will be out at the Zillions web site next Sunday (17 Sep 06) or download it now from my website (http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz/swindex2.html). Big Mazes II now must be one of the most versatile maze generators around. None of the others I have seen allow the editing of the board with no-go areas before the start of the automatic maze creation. Also, I have never seen a maze generator with so many styles offered. Have fun playing, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
Unplay Chess V3.0 : total revamp Dear Chess Retro Fans, after a total rewrite, Unplay Chess V3.0 has become a much stronger tool. - Though the default is for White to start, a PASS button now allows you to have Black make the first retro move. This feature is important for retro problems where - as part of the problem - you have to find out whose move it is. - It now detects nearly all illegal double-checks for example (these are flagged after the move). - It also offers you less moves in the first place, because it recognises more illegal moves before the execution of a move (though this implemented knowledge is still quite rudimentary due to the limitations of Zillions). - It also now comprises 27 variants, which include some of the best retro problems ever invented (according to Fabel). Try it out! Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
Pacman Chess V1.1 : Much better computer game now. I took out the ?Rand random player which only moved the Pacmen. Now the players have to move the Pacmen themselves, which is unelegant. The additional random player totally confused the Zillions engine: Black's evaluation was always on zero! Hence the computer did not make any sensible moves. This problem applies to all 2-player games with a randomizing function built in, because the programmer is forced to introduce a (third) "player", who is not a player. There should be an option that a random player is not treated as a player at all in the win/lose routines. V1.1 out tomorrow (or download it now from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz) Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
|
Help wanted completing 'Square The Rectangle' Version 12.0 of my game 'Square The Rectangle' is out next week, or download it now from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz . It now has 811 variants and the size of about 20MB uncompressed, being the largest Zillions game by far I assume. However, most probably there are some rectangles smaller than 50x50 which have solutions, but are not included yet. (Please don't send me additional solutions for rectangle sizes which have a solution already!). My email address is available on my web page. The (non-square) rectangles smaller than 50x50 which I found solutions for are (all found 'by hand', i.e., by trial and error): 11 x 15 12 x 18, 33, 48 13 x 40, 43, 46 15 x 17, 24, 31, 33, 40, 45, 49-50 16 x 18, 29, 32, 39, 45-50 17 x 30, 32, 37, 39-41, 44, 46, 49-50 18 x 23, 25, 27, 29-32, 34-40, 42-50 19 x 25, 27-50 20 x 27, 30, 32-50 21 x 30, 33, 35, 37-38, 41, 43-47, 49-50 22 x 26-29, 32-33, 35-50 23 x 29-33, 37-41, 43-46, 48-50 24 x 27-28, 30, 32-34, 36-46, 48-50 25 x 27, 30-34, 38-41, 43-47, 49 26 x 28-31, 33-34, 36-38, 41-50 27 x 28, 30, 32, 35, 37-41, 43, 45-50 28 x 30-31, 33, 35-36, 38-41, 43-45, 47-48, 50 29 x 30, 33-34, 37, 39-41, 44-49 30 x 31, 33-50 31 x 32-33, 35, 38-40, 42-50 32 x 33-50 (all solved up to 50) 33 x 34, 36-50 34 x 36-38, 40, 42-50 35 x 37-50 36 x 37-38, 40-50 37 x 38-50 (all solved up to 50) 38 x 39-50 (all solved up to 50) 39 x 40-50 (all solved up to 50) 40 x 41-50 (all solved up to 50) 41 x 42-50 (all solved up to 50) 42 x 43-50 (all solved up to 50) 43 x 44-50 (all solved up to 50) 44 x 45-50 (all solved up to 50) 45 x 46-50 (all solved up to 50) 46 x 47-50 (all solved up to 50) 47 x 48-50 (all solved up to 50) 48 x 49-50 (all solved up to 50) 49 x 50 (all solved up to 50) You can also get an overview over all solved cases when you click the 'Diagram' button in the 'Square The Square' Zillions game. Happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 330 Registered: 9-2000 |
Forgot to mention: Images of all solutions can also be found at my web pages: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz/prosqtre.html Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 331 Registered: 9-2000 |
1002 Variants in "Square The Rectangle" ! SqTRe now is version 16.0, out tomorrow, or download it from my web pages http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz I am pretty sure that Square The Rectangle is the first Zillions game with more than onethousand variants... However, my request for help (see last posting) is still valid: Despite recent findings there are most probably still some rectangles (smaller than 50x50) which have not been solved yet. Happy puzzling! Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 332 Registered: 9-2000 |
Game "Square-The-Square Solver" now much faster. (It is actually a square-the-rectangle-solver). Version 1.5 of "Square-The-Square Solver" (out tomorrow) now runs between 100 and 150 percent faster (depending on the task) than Version 1.3 did. For small rectangles this little tool is quite helpful to find solutions for the "square-the-rectangle" problems. I have found about 10 of the 1002 variants of the game "Square The Rectangle" with help of this tool. This may not sound much, but the tool finds very tricky and complex solutions (ie. solutions with many small tiles) which are hard to find us humans. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 335 Registered: 9-2000 |
Crisscross now (up to) 4 colours, also 5x5 board. Following a suggestions by my tester and good friend Denis, I have added sone variants with 3 and 4 colours and also some variants playing 10 strips on the 5x5 board. Available now from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz/swindex2.html or coming Sunday from the Zillions home page. | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member Username: Gschmidt2 Post Number: 10 Registered: 1-2007 |
"Tweaking" vs. "Bonus System" vs. ??? In partial reference to the above post: Mats W (Kålroten) Posted on Friday, December 02, 2005 - 2:28 am: DEFINITIONS: Tweaking - To increase the valuation of a POSITION on the board by creating extra links from said position to a dummy position. The more links that are created, the greater the valuation of the position. The dummy positions are blocked by placing dummy pieces on them. Bonus System - To increase the valuation of a MOVE by creating pieces in an invisible zone as a secondary effect of the move. The pieces do not move, but they can trick ZoG into believing they are more valuable by defining multiple adds. e.g. (piece (name Bonus3) (moves (add add add)) ) The more adds, the higher valuation given to the MOVE that creates the bonus piece. Is there a way to increase the valuation of a PIECE itself or is that what a bonus system effectively does as well? Did I get this right? Thanks -- Greg | ||
| Ronald W Brierley (Ronaldwb)
New member Username: Ronaldwb Post Number: 58 Registered: 2-2003 |
According to my dictionary, tweak is defined to be a verb with one related meaning being ‘to fine tune’ whereas bonus is defined to be a noun with one related meaning being ‘a stimulus’. I was interested to see that Karl Scherer uses bonuses in his programs but I have been too busy as yet to check in what way they are helpful since I am currently tweaking the values of the pieces in my torus chess game which is nearing completion. | ||
| Keith Carter (Keithc)
New member Username: Keithc Post Number: 116 Registered: 8-2000 |
Greg: "Tweaking" vs. "Bonus System" vs. ??? Did you get it right? I am going to have to answer this in two posts. A short one first. I used move priorities in Cephalopod to increase piece values. Define two move types "used" and "unused" then define the turn order so the "unused" moves never get used. Any moves assigned to the "unused" catagory increase the value of the piece. | ||
| Keith Carter (Keithc)
New member Username: Keithc Post Number: 117 Registered: 8-2000 |
As it just so happens I came to the Zillions forums because I have been working on improving the AI play of Cannon and was looking for additional methods to use. Using a variation of the method I described in my previous post, I have been making the unused move value increase conditional on the piece moving to certain zones. Using an ELO rating formula in reverse to calculate relative rating change the improvements have been substantial: +219 points for the e1/f10 town starting positions and +502 points for the b1/i10 town starting positions. The purpose of this post is to explain what I know about the unused move method. A good example of the need for piece value modification is Cephalopod which I did for Zillions about three months ago. There are six piece types representing mathematical values of one through six. A six can not be captured and is worth the most by far, a five less than that, a four a little less than a five etc. down to a one that is extremely easy to capture. However all the pieces use only drop moves and once a piece is dropped it does not move so Zillions gives all of the pieces the same base value of 100. Zillions then played the game very poorly. Here are the Cephalopod move descriptions placed in the unused priority category and the new value of the pieces on the 5x5 default variant board. 1= no additional unused move = 100 2= ( n n n n e add ) = 160 or 189 3= (n n n e add) = 220 or 249 4= ( n n e w add) = 280 or309 5= (n n add) = 325 or 354 6= (add add) = 908 The value of a bare add like the 6-piece uses changes with the size of the board and the other moves of the piece. The value of the bare add used for the 6-piece on the 5x5 board is 504 for the first add and 404 for the second. In the case of Cephalopod 3x5 board the value of the bare add used for the 6-piece is 354 for the first add and 254 for the second add. For a chess queen the first bare add is worth about 980 and for a chess pawn the first bare add is worth about 1100. In the case of the game Cannon the first bare add is worth about 1,400 for the soldier piece. This can make using bare adds alone a blunt instrument for manipulating piece values. One method of reducing the amount of piece value increase is to add directional movement such as is done with the 2, 3, 4, and 5 piece types in Cephalopod. The reason for the range of values is that the directional aspect of the move description causes the piece to move off the board part of the time giving the piece a lower value for a piece occupying those squares. In the case of the 1-piece squares a1-a4 are worth 189 and the rest of the squares on the board are worth 160. It also slightly lowers the value of those squares where the full move is possible. The full move is possible for a piece starting on square a3 for both the 4-piece and the 5-piece. If the move were made the piece would end up on c3 in both cases yet the piece value between the two is different. The drawback to this method is that it makes the same move worth different values on some squares and might encourage the Zillions AI to favor some squares when there is no good play reason to do so. In this case I tried to avoid that by experimenting with directional moves till I got the value range not to overlap other pieces. So a 3-piece is always worth more than a 2-piece and less than a 4-piece etc. Another method of manipulating a piece’s value is to swap it out for a more or less valuable piece that looks and moves the same by using change-type depending on what square it moves to. For example, the entire board is broken into high, middle, and low value zones. Each piece type has three versions with the same exact moves in the used priority, the same piece graphic, and different moves in the unused move priority to create low, middle and high value versions of the pieces. The move definitions include a zone test and change the piece type to high, middle or low depending on what zone it is in. This has the effect of herding a players pieces into the right area of the board. A third method is to give a piece moves in the unused priority that are conditional. This is an increase dependent upon the piece meeting the condition regardless of piece type. For example it is useful when a piece’s value needs to be increased because of its position relative to other pieces regardless of which part of the board (zone) it is in. | ||
| Keith Carter (Keithc)
New member Username: Keithc Post Number: 118 Registered: 8-2000 |
My question is how much does adding unusable directions tweak the value of a move? Bare adds can add such large chunks of value that it might be better to use a method with a smaller granularity. | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member Username: Gschmidt2 Post Number: 11 Registered: 1-2007 |
Wow, thanks for the informative post, I hadn't realized there are so many ways to influence the AI. The notions of changing piece types or using move priorities had not even occurred to me. Also, it appears that several developers have been using these techniques, and variations of them, to expand the scope of playable games. [My question is how much does adding unusable directions tweak the value of a move?] Although I haven't tried it, I would think that adding a single direction would be more "granular" than a bare add because it only adds mobility to a single square. Mats could best answer to this. Mats are you there? -- Greg | ||
| Ronald W Brierley (Ronaldwb)
New member Username: Ronaldwb Post Number: 59 Registered: 2-2003 |
Keith, I find your description of the three ways of piece value tweaking very interesting. I would particularly like to know your source for the ELO rating formula and what the details are of your reversing technique, Ronald | ||
| Keith Carter (Keithc)
New member Username: Keithc Post Number: 119 Registered: 8-2000 |
Ronald, here is the link to the ELO difference calculator: http://www.3dkingdoms.com/chess/elo.htm | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 337 Registered: 9-2000 |
This chapter annnounces new VERSION AND UPDATES! Aren't you guys in the wrong place for this discussion??? | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 338 Registered: 9-2000 |
New: Solution-Lists Screen New Solution-Lists Screens for games "Square The Rectangle" and "Floor Tilings". I used to solve the many-solutions-display-problem in my games by adding a variant for each solution. This has the disadvantage that you fist have to select the variant, which re-starts the program, then use Help/ShowSolution which again reruns the program and hence is slow and awkward. Also, when there are hundreds of solution you cannot even select the variant at all, so you have to go via the open/stored game file option. I took me only a few years to realise that the much faster and convenient way to display heaps of solutions is to create a zrf separate from the original program which calls the solutions via a simple click on the screen. Such special solution-lists screens I have now implemented in the lates versions of the games "Square The Rectangle" and "Floor Tilings". (Floor Tilings also had a major overhaul lately, with much better bucket-fill filling all the tight spaces and a new 'final touch' option). The Solution-list method will also be used in the new game "Floor Tilings II", out next week (or copy it now from my web pages http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz). Floor Tilings II is similar to Floor Tilings, but on the 60-degree grid. It comes with some interesting stored 'nowhere-neat' tilings of the plane, all from my book 'New Mosaics'. I would be intersted to hear if you find some more! | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member Username: Gschmidt2 Post Number: 12 Registered: 1-2007 |
Karl wrote: [This chapter annnounces new VERSION AND UPDATES! Aren't you guys in the wrong place for this discussion???] Yes we are. I'm to blame for that as I wasn't paying close attention to the topic I happened to be reading at the time of my original post. I will be more careful about that in the future. I think the discussion of "Tweaking Zillions" belongs in its own topic. Unfortunately, there are several messages along these lines already scattered amongst several topics - but let's not make it worse than it already is. If I, or others, create any new posts along those lines, please be sure to create a new topic for that purpose. On the other hand, I think it's generally a good idea not to create a new topic in cases where a suitable one already exists, in order to avoid "topic explosion". Thanks for reminding us to try to keep these topics relevant to their subject matter. -- Greg | ||
| M Winther (Kalroten)
New member Username: Kalroten Post Number: 9 Registered: 1-2007 |
(Sorry, I missed out on this tweaking discussion, which should really be somewhere else). But if one introduces "bare adds" then the engine can pass a move even if the bare adds have the lowest move priority. This occurs when the player is stalemated. So it should not be possible to use bare adds in chess, although it could be possible in other games. The above suggestions are interesting. I have confined myself to placing adds to occupied extraneous squares, and in this way avoiding the stalemate problem. I have used this method extensively while it is absolutely necessary in most chess variants. The effectiveness is proved by my tweaked versions of Korean Chess and Chinese Chess. By changing the piece values my versions nearly always beat the standard Zillions versions. I have also used this method to lowering a piece's value by adding value to all the other pieces. In this way one can fine-tune piece values, by changing their relative values. Pieces often change value while the position changes, and Zillions increases piece value depending on movement freedom, which means that they become more valuable in the endgame. But many of my pieces don't add value according to this simple principle. However, I haven't addressed the problem. Probably, some of the above suggestions could be applicable. Possibly, at a stage in the game, one could add a copy of the same piece, but with less tweaking value, thus lessening the value of the piece during the game. This is a simple method, but this means that one must keep count of how many pieces have been captured. /Mats | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 342 Registered: 9-2000 |
Chess With Opening Books now completed!!! after 18 months finally I have written the last of 75 chess opening books for Zillions, representing the complete (attached) version of ECO as Zillions chess moves on the way. Also with this last update is has experienced some major improvements:, - better graphics with more text, - an additional alternative piece set, - big green indicator for crucial chess positions - human can now choose whether he/she wants to play Black or White. - 'back to menu' button now returns to correct menu! get it next weekend or download it now from my web pages (it is version 15.0): http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 343 Registered: 9-2000 |
Re: largest Zillions game. Somewhere earlier in this thread I suggested that my game 'Square The Rectangle' was the largest Zillions game with now about 26 MB uncompressed. This is of course wrong, since my game 'Floor Tilings' has a whopping 112 MB uncompressed! | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 347 Registered: 9-2000 |
game ALTERNATE has new graphics! I have given the game Alternate much nicer graphics now! Download the latest version from the zillions site. | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 348 Registered: 9-2000 |
Square The Square II, Square The Rectangle update I apologize for the fact that the last updates of Square The Square II (V38.0) and Square The Rectangle (V24.0) has some bugs and caused some stored solutions (zsg files) not to run. The good news is that I have fixed all bugs and my games Square The Square II (V38.1) and Square The Rectangle (V24.1) can now be downloaded from my website http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz (or next weekend from the Zillions site). The bad news is that some of your own zsg files created with these games might not run anymore if they use the SHIFT or DELETE functions (You have to search for strings SHIFT or DEL to find out which of the zsg files you created yourself may be affected.) The problems arose because I had to adjust the zrf code slightly to include the new FRAME feature. Cheers, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 349 Registered: 9-2000 |
Pum-Pum now with > 100 challenges! The new (Sep 9, 2007) version of Pum-Pum is much improved: More than 100 challenges, grouped into three games, all accessible from the entry menu. I have also added a "Freeplay" game you can select from the entry menu where you can design and play your own board setup! If you find some good setups, you can send them to me and I will add them to the published game! (please also send a solution zsg). Have fun! Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 350 Registered: 9-2000 |
V1.1 of Crystal much better! My new solitair game Crystal (published V1.0 29 Sep 07) was coded by me quite inefficiently, as it turned out. In case you are interested: there is a much improved Version V1.1 already (30 Sep) on my website http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz (It also has much improved graphics) happy playing! | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 359 Registered: 9-2000 |
Tutorials for 3x3x3 and 4x4x4 Cube! Re: my game "Rubik's Cube" V2.0: - name change! (was Rubic's _Cube) - variants have been added by me which tell you how to solve the cube. - Version 2.1 out next weekend New game "Rubik's 4x4x4": - available from next weekend (6 Jan 07) - with tutorial telling you how to solve it! | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 362 Registered: 9-2000 |
Bug in my game Dicewalk! V1.0 of Dicewalk has a bug (6-pips-face rolled north does not work correctly). V1.1 (of 24 Feb 08) is available now on my web page: http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz/swindex2.html and will be published on the Zillions web site in one week's time. happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 363 Registered: 9-2000 |
Important upgrade of Graph-Puzzles, now V4.0 9 March 2008: 'Graph-Puzzles' has been greatly improved and is now version 4.0. (sadly, the Zillions homepage does not show upgrades by week, so one does not know in general whether an already upgraded game has just got another upgrade...) | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 364 Registered: 9-2000 |
Maxicol improved Hi everybody, my game Maxicol got an overhaul and has a few additional challenges now built in: special counters which measure the quality of your solutions! Download it now from http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz or get it next weekend from the Zillions home page. Karl | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 369 Registered: 9-2000 |
Dicewalk, Groops, Proon much improved lately. This is a reminder that the games Dicewalk, Groops, and Proon have been much improved since their first appearance. Have a look at the latest versions. Happy puzzling, Karl | ||
| David J Bush (Twixter)
New member Username: Twixter Post Number: 46 Registered: 7-2002 |
All this time! I posted Loop Game in 2003, and discovered a bug in the code just a couple weeks ago. The patch has been installed. So, if you ever thought it should have declared a win for one side and it didn't, or it did and you didn't see why, maybe the computer was wrong. I'm very sorry. I hope you will give it another try. BTW the Kadon game company will make a prototype of "Lazo" which is Spanish for loop. It's the same game but with cooler looking tiles and a larger grid. You can read about Lazo at http://www.geocities.com/twixtplayer/Lazo1.html I don't know if Kadon will pick up the game, but if they do I will let you all know! | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member Username: Gschmidt2 Post Number: 85 Registered: 1-2007 |
Congratulations and best of luck with it! Loop Game is indeed a good and original connection game. Please keep us posted of any developments here. As an aside, I'm curious as to what tool you used to create the nice 3d images on the site you referenced above. -- Greg | ||
| David J Bush (Twixter)
New member Username: Twixter Post Number: 47 Registered: 7-2002 |
Thanks! I use POV-Ray, which is free to download from http://www.povray.org/ I like it a lot. BTW here's a direct link to download the Loop game module: http://tinyurl.com/6dh93g | ||
| F Groeneveld (Groeneveld)
New member Username: Groeneveld Post Number: 4 Registered: 2-2009 |
Hello Reader I live in the Netherlands, and have interest in ZIllions program How can I buy it,and can i pay if so with PAYPAL?? | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 375 Registered: 9-2000 |
V2.0 of Sudoku-Tool out now (April 5, 2009)! Sudoku Tool is now much more powerful. Medium and hard Sudoku puzzles I now solve regularly with it in under 2 minutes. I have also added another level of help called "MORE", so you can choose better how much help from the system you want. Happy solving, Karl | ||
| M Winther (Kalroten)
New member Username: Kalroten Post Number: 114 Registered: 1-2007 |
In the unlikely event that somebody is interested in my investigations of the mathematical and geometrical properties of the chequered board, I have made a programming error in the black Guanaco piece and the black Vicuna piece. They can only make one two-square jump toward the white position. The programs which contain the Guanaco and the Vicuna are the following, which have been corrected. The updates will be published the coming weekend or you can download them from my homepage. http://hem.passagen.se/melki9/guanacochess.htm http://hem.passagen.se/melki9/pilgrimchess.htm http://hem.passagen.se/melki9/pioneerchess.htm /Mats | ||
| Karl Scherer (Karl)
New member Username: Karl Post Number: 381 Registered: 9-2000 |
David Bush's link does not work anymore The link http://www.geocities.com/twixtplayer/Lazo1.html mentioned by David Bush in his message on Saturday, September 20, 2008 - 7:16 pm does not work anymore since Geocities has closed down. Maybe David can give us a replcement link for it? | ||
| Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member Username: Gschmidt2 Post Number: 120 Registered: 1-2007 |
I don't know about David's link, but the MSO site has 4 tutorial articles by him. See: http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/proprietary/twixt/twixt1.html http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/proprietary/twixt/twixt2.html http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/proprietary/twixt/twixt3.html http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/proprietary/twixt/twixt4.html TwixT is one of my favorite games. |