| Author |
Message |
David J Bush (Twixter)
New member
Username: Twixter
Post Number: 49
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 11:24 pm: | |
Someone told me, Mark Lefler may be working on a new version of ZoG. Here are some pie in the sky wishes.
How about a real time server? With scheduled tournaments, a rating system, time controls and a bag of Fritos. It just so happens, there already is a relatively popular real time abstract game server at iggamecenter.com and many of the ZoG games are already implemented there. It's written in Javascript, and there is an upper limit on the display detail. I dunno, maybe you could talk to Arty about improving his site?
Move notation for ZoG 2.01 seems to be primarily designed for the sake of the script writer. This is not necessarily bad, since the more game scripts ZoG has, the better. And for games with a simple rectangular grid, there is not necessarily any problem. But for the purpose of sharing and analyzing games, perhaps some XML standard could be established. It would be nice if the coordinates were easier to understand without limiting the script writer too much.
Another community resource I would love to see is an archive of games, with analysis capability for registered ZoG users.
Thanks for your time. |
Jeff Zeitlin (Jzeitlin)
New member
Username: Jzeitlin
Post Number: 12
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2013 - 11:33 am: | |
I originally posted this on the GPL thread (/discus/messages/132/1542.html?1378294170), but on reflection, it really belongs here.
Perhaps an update to Zillions - 2.1? 3.0? - could support SVG as a graphic format instead of just bitmaps. This would potentially allow scaling for different-sized screens, without the ZRF author having to rewrite. I remember at least one ZRF for klin zha (Klingon chess) which used graphics that were so large that you NEEDED to have a 1280x1024 screen, at a time when the most common screens were still only 1024x768. |
Ken Franklin (Kenz)
New member
Username: Kenz
Post Number: 54
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2013 - 11:40 pm: | |
I still hold to many of my preferences to the version one edition of Zillions. Yes there were significant advancements with the 2.0. At a user's standpoint, some of those changes however weren't an improvement. Particularly with the default graphics (sourced from my home town area, btw) - both visual and switching coordinations. I still miss not being invited for a testing phase voice. |
Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member
Username: Gschmidt2
Post Number: 172
Registered: 1-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 04, 2013 - 11:44 pm: | |
Ken,
I didn't fully understand your post and I'd like to understand it better. Could you please explain further? What do you mean by "default graphics (sourced from my home town area, btw) - both visual and switching coordinations." Also, I'm curious what features you didn't feel were an improvement. Thanks! |
Ken Franklin (Kenz)
New member
Username: Kenz
Post Number: 55
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, September 05, 2013 - 11:09 pm: | |
Hi Greg.
I had the impression that Mr. Haag was from the Toronto, Canada, area (hometown, btw). I was already mildly miffed with just not getting a friendly e-mail from a long ago Zillions marketing person - also nearby. Neighbours should occasionally say hello? (Ditto! for Blackberry and MS Canada, etc. I am struggling in poverty, btw.)
That generalized version 2 visual style is simply too young. I did state that long ago. It is further increased in an era of mobile computing devices. Version 1 remains critically better, that way.
When Zillions' piece sets are switched under version 2, the board graphics cycle one way and the piece graphics cycle another.
Longer piece lists also don't appear with a right-click, as they do with version 1's scrollable listing.
There is also The Fingery Hand as a main cursor.
There also wasn't a revised subfolder mapping of the zrfs. It was still placing everything into one single folder. Before I made my '03 Select Screen menu-text zrf, I was self-sorting my directory of games. So that I had Rules\Chess\Small, and Rules\Maze, etc.
As often though, I also dealt with tiny issues going the other way, as it should be, during my later game developments. There are a few added features which I do envy version 2 for. A Pass-sound setting is one.
As an ongoing+ version 1.3 user, I will guess that a third of the submissions do not actually require version 2, however. Many simply have either a single re-writtened 'Options' "flip" line carried over from a default game, or a version check line in their zrf - without any version 2 features in use.
+ A piano player still gets paid; as a games contributer (of some level) I should have received a free upgrade. As it turns out, I think I did better by still using the older version. |
Greg Schmidt (Gschmidt2)
New member
Username: Gschmidt2
Post Number: 173
Registered: 1-2007
| | Posted on Friday, September 06, 2013 - 1:42 am: | |
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the clarifications, I appreciate the perspective you have given and I'll have to think some more about what you wrote.
Judging from the "desired features" (as well as other threads on this forum), honestly the amount of ideas and suggestions for Zillions seems overwhelming to me. As a software developer myself, I can appreciate the immense task of creating a general game playing system such as Zillions, which is very likely the best that's ever been done. Perhaps the success of Zillions in this community is what drives the loyal base of users to continually suggest improvements. From the perspective of the Zillions developers themselves, I gather they've been in a position of not being able to please everyone (how would one even begin to prioritize and expect to address even a fraction of the feedback?), and that's often a fact of life for software of this scale.
Having said that I also want to add that given the limitations that do exist, I'm frequently amazed at the ingenuity that a number of ZRF developers such as yourself have demonstrated (much of it I suspect goes way beyond what the original designers anticipated - e.g. Karl's opening books, Mat's tweaking, etc...). I appreciate your contributions and continue to enjoy them.
-- Greg |
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