Trax

I would like to see an option to remove the pgn notation....that way I could see my espionage numbers!

to Walter Montego:

Well Smirf is supporting the basics of PGN. That is that games based on 8x8 standard chess or 10x8 extended capablanca piece set could be saved and loaded. Actually e.g. Janus Chess, Chess, Chess960, Gothic Chess (if enabled by a key) and Capablanca Random Chess could be filed as PGN also enabling comments but not yet additional move variants within a game. Additionally a lot of other chess variants could be supported, if they simply are using a different starting array.

To get an impression of Smirf's abilities you could download a restricted beta version from:
http://www.chessbox.de/beta.html Project Chronicle 2004-Dec-10

PGN is a form of notation that represents a game to a computer the way standard chess notation represents it to a human. you can feed a PGN file to a chess application on your computer and it will then have the whole game available to it so you can open and play the game at any time, keep hitting the "move" button to watch the game be played out, add your own notes for later reference and study, or take the place of one of the players at any point in the game to investigate "what-if" scenarios and such. it's quite a useful feature if you're into all that.

and yes, Abalone is tons of fun. it's actually best when played in person over a physical board because the board's plastic and the marbles are glass and - especially with the first edition which was bigger than the set is now - the aesthetics are very pleasing. the game's beautiful to look at - the hexagonal board with the shiny spherical marbles - and pushing the marbles around feels good and makes a very satisfying "chunk!" sound when they fall into place. but it would be satisfying on here too - just for different reasons.

Dresden: ughaibu:
Thank you both, now I know what the abbreviation stands for and a little about what it's used for. I have no I idea how it is used or what you guys do with it, but atleast I'll understand what you're asking for now. I take it you program the machines yourselves and this is a type of code that they can read. Is it something simular to Sumerian's Smirf program and how it keeps its score and records the moves?

Maybe "portable game notation".

Dresden:
I concur

If I had the choice then I would be visible as online player, but not in the friends online list. I mean my fellowships ar not my family. Anybody else ?

PGN is a (text) file with the moves, it has a standard format. That´s why many programs can read it.

What does PGN stand for, and what does it do?

Is it possible to add download PGN code functionality to Dark Chess?

I vote for Abalone too. it looks fun.

I would vote for Abalone. And then once it was introduced, then I would vote to put a Battleboat game on the "hex" board. :-)

that game looks fun!

i'd like to request, again, as i will continue to do periodically, that Abalone be added to the games available on brainking. it's one of the funnest board games available to humanity, and we can't yet play it here.

People can abuse the message system now even when they are not running a tournament.

The chainsaw is a good tool for cutting wood. You don't stop selling them because you can hack people to pieces with one also.

EdTrice: I see a good use for this, but I also see it as something that would get abused a lot - for example, I could see some people that will:

1) send message "Hey, tournament will start in 1 day"
2) then send message "Hey, tournament has now started"
3) etc... etc.. etc.. anyway, I know myself I would not want to get a lot of "junk" messages like that.

EdTrice:
Im sorry :( I misunderstood you :)

BerniceC: I meant message everyone on here, not email them.

In other words, you are TD of a tournament, you type one message, hit SEND TO PARTICIPANTS or something like that, and they all get the message.

How hard would it be to have a search option in the bug tracker. With 200+ bug posts, it would be nice to have a search option.

Chalk one up for webtv!
No pop up problems here :)

Thad: This explains the posts for fencer to change it then. What are these pop up windows that you're refering to Thad? Is there a way that I shut off the smileys, or conversely enable the Java?

Walter - i'm on AOL and my smileys appear when i put the cursor over it.....

Thad: yes.. and I like looking at the profiles seeing who has the larger pics posted.. :)

Walter Montego: Because we like the pop-up window next to our 'Main page' link and all the other Java features here.

plaintiger: Almost sounds like a good thing, though I'm not one to say AOL is good at much. So why don't you guys shut off the Java and stop it from being a problem?

Walter Montego: AOL's browser doesn't behave like a real browser - that's why you don't get a popup smiley chooser when you roll over the grinning smiley.

Walter Montego: you probably havent the java features enabled on your brainking settings :)

i 'fourth' the suggestion of plaintiger :)

Ive mentioned it to a few people how i accidentally mouse over it an have that darn window pop up and be in the way while trying to type. Stop typing, click mouse in empty area to close pop up, go back to typing lol

plaintiger: Mine doesn't do anything when my cursor is directly on the smiley. So, what's the deal? If I put it on the question mark, the cursor turns into a finger pointing at a link. If I press the link, I am taken to a table with codes for smileys. Whatever causes your problem, isn't a problem on my computer. Perhaps we are using different browsers or internet service providers and that could explain it?
AOL and Microsoft WindowsXP here.

plaintiger: Yes, the smiley pop-up window is a big annoyance. I didn't want to bring it up until I had thought of a solution. Your idea works very well. I 'third' that request!!

i second that ;)

i'm still interested - as i always will be - in being able to play Abalone on brainking.

i would also like to request that Fencer institute a short delay between the time the user's cursor rolls over the graphical smiley panel popper-upper and the time the panel actually pops up. it pops up for me all the time when i don't want it to just because my cursor breezed past the pop-up point, and then half the time it won't go away until i hold my cursor over it for a few seconds (or choose a smiley even though i don't want one) and then click outside it. hassle!

BIG BAD WOLF: ....or simply only allow a tournament for one game at a time. Since there is no way to include all games into one tournament anyway.

Most of the time when someone sets up tournaments for 'all games' most of them do not even get the required participation to begin anyway.

I know it 'saves space' on the tournament listing page. But if it is a new tournament, then what the heck, make people put them up seperatly.

would it be difficult to add mancala as a new game type ?

as mancala can be played perfectly omweso might be nicer ?

it could have an asterisk or other sign in the line for every game where you are signed up

I would think it would be a little more tricky to put a "you are signed up" for the tournament page since some tournament listings will have multiply games - so if you are signed up for 1 game type of a tournament which offers 20 different tournaments, should it say you are signed up or not?

BerniceC - I've already asked Fencer about that, after he implemented my idea for the "you are signed up" on ponds. He said it's something he can do but is quite a big job but it is on his "to-do" list.

EdTrice:
I can understand what you mean but because of past "crap" I would rather keep my email private!
Wouldnt it be better to close down a DB from a real old competition or start a new one and put it on your PROFILE page or even on the main game page....

I love the "you are already signed up" feature on PONDS, when you click on them.....
NOW for Tournaments...can we have the same thing...click on tournaments and there you are...."already signed up"....would be nice but not really important :)

In this tournament:

http://brainking.com/game/Tournaments?trg=6703&tri=25674&trnst=0

I am occasionally getting questions for a further clarification of the rules. If there was a way to send a message to all participants at once, that would be a cool feature.

Fencer: Sorry, I was not looking for an explaination. I was just venting.

I just think that if the limit is 2 now, and many people honored that even before the rule was implimented thinking they would lose them anyway, why let anyone keep more than 2 now?

Thad: The pond columns are different so they would not incorporate well into the exsisting list. What I do is click the red number for Pond turns and go to the next one that way.

I was wondering though... what order is that in? My list is by shortest time, but it does not pick the next one in that order.

I would really like to see ponds incorporated into my list of other games, rather than having two separate lists. Then, going to the next pond would be just like going to any other game.

a possibility to enter the bet in a pond game with a button "go to the next pond". I'm sure that all who have entered some zillion ponds like me will agree

Fencer: What nic will your white, long-hair cat have?

I can't imagine becoming Darth Vader, but maybe I could turn into Harry Potter

And I just wanted to rename myself to Ersnt Stavro Blofeld.

I guess some people get bored with their nic and feel the need to change. That's ok as long it isn't every 5 minutes. It causes confusion on the dbs as well. You read something about 'xx'... but 'xx' has become 'zz' since then.
I associate the personality with the nic. Fencer is Fencer, Bry is Bry, harley is harley.... I can't imagine them having other nics. You get used to them.

For example, in the past we have had 'XXXXXX's girl'. It would become embarrassing when she ceases to be XXXXXX's girl! Or the ID turns out to be mean something offensive in another language. 'Topical' ids become stale sooner or later and need to be updated.