Scatha 0.2.9: This one actually works!

[Tord Romstad]

Hi 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

[Daniel Mehrmann]

Many thanks Tord !

I will test it.
My suggestions are:
- Setting up UCI option will be fine (engine)
- i can't rember currently: Can the clocks be changed in a running game ?
- Scrolling PV

btw: If some of this features will be added i want use _your_ GUI for Leiden Only problem will be the book support.

Best,
Daniel

Hi 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

[Tord Romstad]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for your comments!

My suggestions are:
- Setting up UCI option will be fine (engine)

This is high on my list of priorities, of course. It is not entirely trivial, but I hope to have something usable quite soon.

- i can't rember currently: Can the clocks be changed in a running game ?

I also don't remember (and I'm at a different machine right now and cannot test), but I think they can. If I am wrong, it should of course be easy to fix.

- Scrolling PV

I would like to have this, too. MultiPV would also be nice. In both cases, the problem is mainly a cosmetic one. I am not sure how to present the information in a visually appealing way. Perhaps I should have a look at how other GUIs do this.

btw: If some of this features will be added i want use _your_ GUI for Leiden

Now you are making me nervous. I really don't want you to lose any games because my GUI crashes! I really can't recommend using it for anything serious right now. On the other hand, it will of course continue to improve rapidly, and it is possible that it will already be quite usable in time for Leiden.

Only problem will be the book support.

GUI book support will be there in just a few days. However, the book will not be of very high quality (I'll probably just use Glaurung's book), and it will initially not be possible to create your own books.

Tord

[Daniel Mehrmann]

Well Tord,

it was only a thought and i want give you more motivation and i like your gui of course

1. I never saw your GUI crashing here
2. I'm just for fun in Leiden. If the GUI crash and i should lose a game it doesn't matter! Normaly i can restart all things, i'm pretty sure.
3. I have S9 as backup GUI on board

A book is better as nothing and i have yet no own book for homer on other GUI's. So i have this problem in general. I repeat: Fun is the reason for Leiden, so a bad book doesn't matter And so bad could your book never be, i believe.

Best,
Daniel

btw: If some of this features will be added i want use _your_ GUI for Leiden

Now you are making me nervous. I really don't want you to lose any games because my GUI crashes! I really can't recommend using it for anything serious right now. On the other hand, it will of course continue to improve rapidly, and it is possible that it will already be quite usable in time for Leiden.

Only problem will be the book support.

GUI book support will be there in just a few days. However, the book will not be of very high quality (I'll probably just use Glaurung's book), and it will initially not be possible to create your own books.

Tord[/quote]

[Tord Romstad]

Well Tord,

it was only a thought and i want give you more motivation and i like your gui of course

It certainly helps. Thanks a lot!

1. I never saw your GUI crashing here

Trust me -- you soon will! It doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to, though. It is beginning to look quite usable now.

A book is better as nothing and i have yet no own book for homer on other GUI's. So i have this problem in general. I repeat: Fun is the reason for Leiden, so a bad book doesn't matter And so bad could your book never be, i believe.

You can try it out yourself now: Go to the patches page on my site and download the patch file from today. It adds GUI book and adjustable hash table size, and fixes two serious PGN parsing bugs. You'll find further details, including instructions about how to install the patch, on my page. Please note that this patch, unlike most others, requires a restart of the GUI in order to work.

Tord

[Daniel Mehrmann]

It certainly helps. Thanks a lot!

You can try it out yourself now: Go to the patches page on my site and download the patch file from today. It adds GUI book and adjustable hash table size, and fixes two serious PGN parsing bugs. You'll find further details, including instructions about how to install the patch, on my page. Please note that this patch, unlike most others, requires a restart of the GUI in order to work.

Tord

Yeah, all works fine Pondering too. It would be nice if you could a add "Ponder: <move>" during ponder running ? Mostly i don't know what was current the ponder move

Allso nice would be if you set an information symbol if engines fail low or fail high.

Anyway, good work !

Best,
Daniel

[Tord Romstad]

Yeah, all works fine Pondering too.

You are right; I forgot to mention that when releasing yesterday's patch. The GUI now sends "setoption Ponder value true" when required.

It would be nice if you could a add "Ponder: <move>" during ponder running ? Mostly i don't know what was current the ponder move

Allso nice would be if you set an information symbol if engines fail low or fail high.

If you visit my page again, you will find a new patch file which includes both these features. The ponder move is shown (in parens) at the beginning of the PV, and fail highs and fail lows are displayed with a '>' or '<' in front of the score. Another new feature is that you can paste FEN strings from the clipboard when setting up a position.

For further details, visit http://www.glaurungchess.com

Tord