Scatha 0.2.9: This one actually works!
Posted: 30 Oct 2005, 16:52Hi all,
I think I have finally managed to build a version of my GUI which works on all Macs running OS X 10.4.2. I expect to have a binary for OS X 10.3.9 ready within a few days. Downloading the new version is recommended even for those lucky users who were able to use Scatha 0.2.8, because there are several bug fixes and new features:
Setting up positions now work for rectangular chess as well. Some basic legality checking has also been added; you can no longer set up positions with more than one white king, pawns on the 1st or 8th rank, and so on.
Saving games now appears to work correctly for all game types, including FRC. Rectangular games (normal chess and FRC) are saved to files with the extension .pgn, while hexagonal games are saved with the extension .phgn. When trying to save games to an existing file, there is an annoying message which warns you that you are about to replace the old file, and asks you if you really want to proceed. Of course it is safe to save games to existing files, and the old contents are not deleted. Instead the new game is added to the end of the file, like you would expect). Unfortunately I haven't found a way to disable this alert panel.
Loading PGN files also works, at least to some extent. Scatha should be able to read all files it has produced itself, but I can't promise that it will always manage to read files created by other programs. Another problem is that my PGN parser is currently extremely slow. If you open a file containing a few hundred games or more, you will be waiting for a really long time before the operation is completed.
There was a bug in previous versions which would occasionally make a pawn appear on the board out of nowhere, usually directly after a castling move. This has been fixed in 0.2.9.
The "Current line" in the search display didn't work for other engines than Glaurung and Scatha. The reason was a simple typo: The GUI sent "setoption name UCI_ShowCurrline" instead of "setoption name UCI_ShowCurrLine" to the engine. Fixed in 0.2.9.
As always, I would be happy to receive comments, bug reports and suggestions for improvements. Contributions like nicer piece bitmaps or a more attractive application icon would also be very welcome.
The URL is http://www.glaurungchess.com
Tord
I think I have finally managed to build a version of my GUI which works on all Macs running OS X 10.4.2. I expect to have a binary for OS X 10.3.9 ready within a few days. Downloading the new version is recommended even for those lucky users who were able to use Scatha 0.2.8, because there are several bug fixes and new features:
Setting up positions now work for rectangular chess as well. Some basic legality checking has also been added; you can no longer set up positions with more than one white king, pawns on the 1st or 8th rank, and so on.
Saving games now appears to work correctly for all game types, including FRC. Rectangular games (normal chess and FRC) are saved to files with the extension .pgn, while hexagonal games are saved with the extension .phgn. When trying to save games to an existing file, there is an annoying message which warns you that you are about to replace the old file, and asks you if you really want to proceed. Of course it is safe to save games to existing files, and the old contents are not deleted. Instead the new game is added to the end of the file, like you would expect). Unfortunately I haven't found a way to disable this alert panel.
Loading PGN files also works, at least to some extent. Scatha should be able to read all files it has produced itself, but I can't promise that it will always manage to read files created by other programs. Another problem is that my PGN parser is currently extremely slow. If you open a file containing a few hundred games or more, you will be waiting for a really long time before the operation is completed.
There was a bug in previous versions which would occasionally make a pawn appear on the board out of nowhere, usually directly after a castling move. This has been fixed in 0.2.9.
The "Current line" in the search display didn't work for other engines than Glaurung and Scatha. The reason was a simple typo: The GUI sent "setoption name UCI_ShowCurrline" instead of "setoption name UCI_ShowCurrLine" to the engine. Fixed in 0.2.9.
As always, I would be happy to receive comments, bug reports and suggestions for improvements. Contributions like nicer piece bitmaps or a more attractive application icon would also be very welcome.
The URL is http://www.glaurungchess.com
Tord
