| Author |
Message |
Uwe Wiedemann (Uwe)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 24, 2001 - 10:33 am: | |
The most checker versions (international checkers, Russian checkers, Polish checkers, German checkers, Spanish checkers, Italian checkers ...) and crossovers between checker and chess (cheskers, Byelorussian cheskers ...) have a rule which can not realized in the actual Zillions version.
The rule (with a modification in Italian checkers) is that you must capture in a way that maximizes the number of captured pieces. Before you start your capture you must choice one of the routes which maximize the captured pieces. If you have, for example, four capture routes
1) piece (a) captures 2 or 4 pieces,
2) piece (b) captures 4 pieces and
3) piece (c) captures 3 pieces,
you must take (a) or (b) and capture 4 pieces. In the American checker you could also take piece (c) and also capture with (a) only 2 pieces. It is not a bit of bad luck that in international tournaments this rule is used and not the American checkers is played. In Italian checker additional to the rule which I have described it plays a role wheather we capture a checker or a king.
American checker and Turkish checker is realized in Zillions, but the rule of international checker, German checker, Russian checker, Polish checker, Spanish checker, Italian checker, chesker, Byelorussian chesker, ... is not realizable with the means of the Zillions-language. It would be nice, if it could make realizeable these rules in Zillions.
At least chess, international morris and international checker should be implementable in a correct way with Zillions. And this would be an important step in this direction.
The other problems with these games, not so fatal because not with such a big influence on the real game are connected with the 50-moves rule in these games and with the incorrect work of the 3-times-repetition-rule in some special cases. They are described elsewhere on the Zillions discussion boards. About the problems with time limit rules and the weak morris play of Zillions engine (a lousy player as me or better programs win in 12 - 15 moves) I will be siltent here. |
Dan Troyka (Dtroyka)
| | Posted on Sunday, June 24, 2001 - 11:24 am: | |
Zillions now has a "maximal-captures" command that allows the implementation of this rule. (You may be working off an older version of ZoG.) An example can be found in the current version of Fairy Tale Draughts. |
Uwe Wiedemann (Uwe)
| | Posted on Monday, June 25, 2001 - 6:52 am: | |
Thank you, my mistake. I work not with an older Zillions. But I use langref.hlp as reference and in this file (at least on my computer) is the maximal-captures-command not included. This command is very helpful. Thanks to the developer of Zillions.
By the way, can everybody help: If I give the command
(win-condition (White Black) (and (total-piece-count 2) (absolute-config King (board-zone)) (absolute-config (any-owner Checker) (board-zone))))
I get a syntax error. If I use the shorter command line
(win-condition (White Black) (and (absolute-config King (board-zone)) (absolute-config (any-owner Checker) (board-zone))))
all is right. Where is the problem? |
Jeff Mallett (Jeffm)
| | Posted on Friday, December 13, 2002 - 9:25 pm: | |
Maximal captures has been extended in Zillions of Games 2.0 to give you some control as to what happens when there's a tie. This can be helpful in implementing some Checkers type games (but version 2 also includes a lot more of the standard regional variants.) |
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