Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS

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Ted Summers
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Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS

Post by Ted Summers »

Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS, maybe with FICS and ICC support for online play. I have allways thought that both ICC and FICS could use the support of a really good GUI interface as I really don't care for what is out there now. Don't get me wrong, I like UCI engines ... Just would like to see better chess engine interfaces to chose from. :D

PS: Yes I am speaking from a Windows / Linux world.
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Fernando
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Post by Fernando »

It is a pity that every time the FUI issue is discussed, is just from your view point, pal, as a matter of adding this or that freaky computerish thing. Thinking in Gui's I think in more pretty, complete, original, catchy, gorgeous gui, on with even a lady there coming to us from a corner of the screen to invite us to play a game.
The actual format of almost every program is the same Grey square....pfttttt

Fernando
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Harvey Williamson
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Re: Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS

Post by Harvey Williamson »

Ted Summers wrote:Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS, maybe with FICS and ICC support for online play. I have allways thought that both ICC and FICS could use the support of a really good GUI interface as I really don't care for what is out there now. Don't get me wrong, I like UCI engines ... Just would like to see better chess engine interfaces to chose from. :D

PS: Yes I am speaking from a Windows / Linux world.

Hi Ted,

Welcome to our forum.

There are no plans at the moment to have a GUI for Hiarcs in the Windows world. When I play on ICC which is not that often I use Chess Partner. The rest of the time mainly the CB GUI and sometimes Shredder.

There is of course nice Hiarcs/Sigma Chess GUI for use on Macs.

Best Wishes,

Harvey
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Ted Summers
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Re: Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS

Post by Ted Summers »

Harvey Williamson wrote:
Ted Summers wrote:Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS, maybe with FICS and ICC support for online play. I have allways thought that both ICC and FICS could use the support of a really good GUI interface as I really don't care for what is out there now. Don't get me wrong, I like UCI engines ... Just would like to see better chess engine interfaces to chose from. :D

PS: Yes I am speaking from a Windows / Linux world.

Hi Ted,

Welcome to our forum.

There are no plans at the moment to have a GUI for Hiarcs in the Windows world. When I play on ICC which is not that often I use Chess Partner. The rest of the time mainly the CB GUI and sometimes Shredder.

There is of course nice Hiarcs/Sigma Chess GUI for use on Macs.

Best Wishes,

Harvey
Thanks for the only intelligent reply Harvey. :lol:
PS: Nice Forum!

Regards Ted
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Tord Romstad
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Re: Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS

Post by Tord Romstad »

Hello Harvey,

Because this is my first post here, and because the rest of this post is rather critical towards the Sigma Chess GUI, let me begin by saying that Hiarcs is an awesome program, and by far my favorite chess engine. No other engine beats my engine as easily as Hiarcs, but the games are always a pleasure to watch.
Harvey Williamson wrote:There is of course nice Hiarcs/Sigma Chess GUI for use on Macs.
The Sigma Chess GUI was probably nice ten years ago. Today, it stands out like a sore thumb in Mac OS X. The GUI is in bad need of a major visual overhaul. At the minimum, the following things need to be fixed:
  • The interface should consist of multiple continuously resizable windows (like virtually any other programs released the last ten years), not a single non-resizable window.
  • Get rid of the weird, non-standard colors, buttons and tabs, and replace them with the standard Macintosh colors and widgets.
  • The icons in the menus must be removed.
One of the main attractions of the Macintosh platform is that you can usually expect all programs to look, feel and behave in a consistent way. This makes GUIs like Sigma Chess, which insists on not following the standards, awkward and unpleasant to use.

Yeah, I know: My own GUI is no better. My excuse is that it is free and still in a very early stage of development.

Tord
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Andreas Guettinger
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Re: Any Thoughts on a GUI for HIARCS

Post by Andreas Guettinger »

Tord Romstad wrote:The icons in the menus must be removed.

Tord
Preferences -> general -> no icons

The Sigma Chess GUI might have not the most consistent look, but for it's still the most usable GUI on the Mac for me.
Of course improvements are always welcome. You might want to contact Ole K. Christensen at http://www.sigmachess.com
regards,
Andy
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