HCE feature requests

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IanO
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HCE feature requests

Post by IanO »

I don't see an option to import or convert SigmaChess game databases. Is that a planned feature for the Mac version? SigmaChess is the last remaining Rosetta app I use, for Hiarcs book monitor and game databases, keeping me from upgrading from OS X 10.6.

I also didn't find an engine match feature, but maybe that is buried somewhere in the Player Explorer. I didn't find engine matches mentioned in the manual.
Dufek
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missing features

Post by Dufek »

Hi Mark,
Chess Explorer is nice, but I miss some features too:

- possibility to save game into new database (other than opened)
- run more engines at one time
- possibility customize "shortcut toolbar" (mainly I miss "find position")
- shortcut for analyse more lines (grey + )
- support for own book(s) - CTG support (as you offer this format)
- I would preffer some other format for showing analysis info than: "-Analysing 1...e5 at depth 23, 226,3M nodes analysed in 3.03 (1.3M per second). I would preffer some fixed fileds for every item.
- do you plan support some other DB formats than PGN?
- GUI is really very quick :-)
- btw. where I can get "Book license" code as I am book subscriber?
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Harvey Williamson
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Re: missing features

Post by Harvey Williamson »

Dufek wrote:Hi Mark,
Chess Explorer is nice, but I miss some features too:

- possibility to save game into new database (other than opened)
- run more engines at one time
- possibility customize "shortcut toolbar" (mainly I miss "find position")
- shortcut for analyse more lines (grey + )
- support for own book(s) - CTG support (as you offer this format)
- I would preffer some other format for showing analysis info than: "-Analysing 1...e5 at depth 23, 226,3M nodes analysed in 3.03 (1.3M per second). I would preffer some fixed fileds for every item.
- do you plan support some other DB formats than PGN?
- GUI is really very quick :-)
- btw. where I can get "Book license" code as I am book subscriber?
You can open another tab with the same position and load another engine I think. As Mark posted in reply to jeremy above you will receive a book code within the next 24 hours.

All ideas are welcome for version 2.
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Mark Uniacke
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Re: Missing features?

Post by Mark Uniacke »

IanO wrote:I don't see an option to import or convert SigmaChess game databases. Is that a planned feature for the Mac version? SigmaChess is the last remaining Rosetta app I use, for Hiarcs book monitor and game databases, keeping me from upgrading from OS X 10.6.

I also didn't find an engine match feature, but maybe that is buried somewhere in the Player Explorer. I didn't find engine matches mentioned in the manual.
As I recommended when Mac OS Lion came along, all Sigma Chess users should save their games in PGN format for compatibility. Sadly we must say goodbye to Sigma Chess and Chess Explorer was never intended to duplicate the features of Sigma Chess although we cover a lot of the features and a great many Sigma Chess never had.

There is no engine match feature in version 1.
Best wishes,
Mark

https://www.hiarcs.com
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Mark Uniacke
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Re: missing features

Post by Mark Uniacke »

Dufek wrote:Hi Mark,
Chess Explorer is nice, but I miss some features too:

- possibility to save game into new database (other than opened)
- run more engines at one time
- possibility customize "shortcut toolbar" (mainly I miss "find position")
- shortcut for analyse more lines (grey + )
- support for own book(s) - CTG support (as you offer this format)
- I would preffer some other format for showing analysis info than: "-Analysing 1...e5 at depth 23, 226,3M nodes analysed in 3.03 (1.3M per second). I would preffer some fixed fileds for every item.
- do you plan support some other DB formats than PGN?
- GUI is really very quick :-)
- btw. where I can get "Book license" code as I am book subscriber?
in turn:
Open the DB first, it is a different approach but it has many benefits
As mentioned you can run different engines in each tab if you want but you need to manage the resources they use carefully. Unlike other GUIs HCE supports multiple databases and engines simultaneously.
Find position (based on the current position) is automatic it is always shown instantly in the Opening Explorer in terms of DB or opening stats. There is a separate find position option which may be what you are refering to which does not have a shortcut icon but does have a short cut keystroke shown on the menu.
Hiarcs books are supported in HCS format and the online books will be updated. CTG is not supported it was produced for other GUIs.
A shortened form of stats might be nice for the future in an expert mode so we can maintain user friendliness for more casual users
It is fast yes.
Book licenses for HCE owners with a book subscription will be emailed tomorrow.
Best wishes,
Mark

https://www.hiarcs.com
Michael Blake
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Post by Michael Blake »

Thanks to the Hiarcs team for getting HCE out, my first impressions are that the wait has been very worthwhile. I'm using the Mac version which may have some differences to the PC version but I'm loving the speed of this thing. Player searches are rapid and it's so easy to adjust the layout should I want to see more games or a larger board etc.

It's early days so I may just need to find some of the stuff I'd like to see but on day 1 for HCE it seems appropriate to say 'Well Done, the Mac has finally joined the 21st Century!'
sockmonkey
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Post by sockmonkey »

A few other random FRs based on very initial usage, in no particular order:

- show material balance
- ability to highlight squares and draw arrows (and save in PGN as a comment (CB-compatible?)).
- DB multiple selection +
- auto-play game(s) -- when preparing for a particular opening, I like to watch a bunch of games beforehand. It's nice to do this hands-free sometimes and just "watch" the games without needing to click or type.
- analyze selected games: open a db, select multiple games, do a game analysis on them all.
- game analysis: blunder check (sure I could set 1s/move or something, but a shortcut for this or a better version might be nice -- I don't tend to use BC anyway, but I think it's a popular feature in other software)
- game analysis: set total analysis time, rather than time per move
- engine: show threat (play a null move for the side to move and show what is being planned)
- engine: show next best (sometimes nicer/quicker than showing more lines)
- indicator that filter is in effect // forget this one, I just need to get in the habit of looking at the 'games' indicator, lower-right
- keyboard shortcuts to remove symbols (I hit '!' by accident, I want to remove it quickly -- the CB solution of '!' opening a context menu might be worth investigating, or similar). In general, I prefer operating software with my keyboard and as little with my mouse as possible. So maybe ctrl-enter on a move could open the context menu.
- find position based on different masks (pawn structure, wildcard piece)
- header search: min/max # of moves
- training: I like the use of the extra header info for tactical solutions, but it would be super-nice to see this really integrated into a training mode at some point.

- BUG: right-click a move to get the contextual menu. Go to 'Set evaluation symbol' (or anything) and stop for a second. CM disappears. Click to reopen, move mouse horizontally (same menu selection), wait a sec, CM disappears.

Those are the first things that occur. I'm really impressed with the responsiveness and feature set so far.

Jeremy
sockmonkey
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Post by sockmonkey »

sockmonkey wrote: - auto-play game(s) -- when preparing for a particular opening, I like to watch a bunch of games beforehand. It's nice to do this hands-free
Sorry, just noticed that this is sort of there. It needs (IMO):

- A speed control. ~1s per move is pretty fast.
- The ability to play back multiple games

Otherwise, kudos for including it in the first place.

Thanks, Jeremy
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Slartibartfast
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Post by Slartibartfast »

Is it planned to add features like:

- engines match (2 engines)
- engines tournament (> 2 engines)

to HCE?

Otherwise, great piece of software ;-)
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Harvey Williamson
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Post by Harvey Williamson »

Slartibartfast wrote:Is it planned to add features like:

- engines match (2 engines)
- engines tournament (> 2 engines)

to HCE?

Otherwise, great piece of software ;-)
Yes!
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Slartibartfast
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Post by Slartibartfast »

Harvey, you made my day ;-)
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Mark Uniacke
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Post by Mark Uniacke »

Lots of good suggestions, we will be planning the feature set for the next version soon so feel free to email me your ideas.
Best wishes,
Mark

https://www.hiarcs.com
IanO
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Re: Missing features?

Post by IanO »

Mark Uniacke wrote:
IanO wrote:I don't see an option to import or convert SigmaChess game databases. Is that a planned feature for the Mac version? SigmaChess is the last remaining Rosetta app I use, for Hiarcs book monitor and game databases, keeping me from upgrading from OS X 10.6.

I also didn't find an engine match feature, but maybe that is buried somewhere in the Player Explorer. I didn't find engine matches mentioned in the manual.
As I recommended when Mac OS Lion came along, all Sigma Chess users should save their games in PGN format for compatibility. Sadly we must say goodbye to Sigma Chess and Chess Explorer was never intended to duplicate the features of Sigma Chess although we cover a lot of the features and a great many Sigma Chess never had.

There is no engine match feature in version 1.
Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll keep Stockfish and cutechess around for engine matches then.

I have over a hundred Sigma game collections, so finding and converting them is quite a chore:

1. Finder > File > Find
2. Select "Kind" and "Other", and type in "Game Collection"
3. For each collection file you want to keep:
a. Open it in Sigma Chess
b. Select the games you wish to export (command-A doesn't work! use shift-click to select ranges of games)
c. click "Export PGN" and choose a file name (end it explicitly with ".pgn" or ".PGN")

Sadly, this won't preserve Round. (Perhaps some AppleScript guru could find a way to automate this?)

Ian
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Slartibartfast
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Post by Slartibartfast »

So far I've found the following engines working with HCE:

- Shredder (*)
- Deep Shredder (*)
- Bikjump
- Critter
- Arasan
- Fruit
- Komodo
- Stockfish

(*) I've installed the program, registered GUI and engine (license), opened package, navigated to Contents/Resources/Java/engines and copied the contents over to a new folder and registered the engines in HCE

So there'll be pretty much contenders for engine matches ...
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Mark Uniacke
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Post by Mark Uniacke »

Good to know HCE is so compatible, thanks.
Best wishes,
Mark

https://www.hiarcs.com
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