Messages

26

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: July 16, 2006, 06:52 PM »

A renewed SMIRF engine has been released now. Download is possible from my web site as usual.

Regards, Reinhard.

27

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: July 16, 2006, 06:24 PM »

Well, before this contest early versions of SMIRF indeed had been available for some few counted beta testers. Therefore SMIRF initially had been intended to be shareware and had not been free at all before this contest - according to that. Instead there had been some RESTRICTED test versions with EXPIRING time limited key sets. Today such an old copy of SMIRF merely would be showing its basic functionality by answering immediately, instead of calculating any amount of time, and by repeatedly showing a nagging window.

Whereas current SMIRF now is released as a donationware, thus it is including a NON EXPIRING PERMANENT key set. Therefore that will work EVER (if installed within a new folder using a current Windows 32 Bit OS).

But because of missing donations (I counted only three) it still is unsure, whether the SMIRF development later then would be continued as a donationware project or not. Actually SMIRF repeatedly has been updated as donationware, assiduously hoping for better acceptance. Seriously donating SMIRF fans also could ask for a different personal key set, which then enables them the use of an additionally replacing downloadable second highly tuned SMIRF engine DLL, which is a separate bonus and no donationware but also using the donationware GUI.

I hope to have sufficiently explained here SMIRF's distribution concept as a donationware. If that would be in conflict with the rules of the running contest, please let me know soon. That case SMIRF's entering then would be taken back immediately.

Best regards, Reinhard.

28

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Calling all BCB Contest Entrants - Post a Hello On This Thread

« on: July 15, 2006, 04:23 AM »

Hello, it's Reinhard writing from Munich, Germany. Borland Developer Studio still is great, even when now some OO development features of BCB for C++ have been extinguished, which is almost unbelievable. I have entered a chess playing program pair consisting of a GUI as exe and an engine as DLL. It covers several 8x8 and 10x8 chess variants. Unfortunately my invention of the 10x8 Capablanca Random Chess for computer chess competitions is not well known, but it would be ideal for chess program development and engine competitions.

29

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: July 13, 2006, 12:58 PM »

One last request, (I forgot to include on the last post, I know I'm getting greedy )
How about a captured pieces list...that would be a very nice feature.

-Marc

This feature is planned, a place for it already is prepared. Simply wait some time ...
(I intend to list only different captured pieces.)

Regards, Reinhard.

30

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: July 13, 2006, 12:50 PM »

I've had a chance to play SMIRF, what a terrific chess program.
I liked it, and on my first game I beat the computer, wow that
made me feel very proud. (at least for a little while, I'm not
usually very good at chess).

-Marc

Congratulations! You must be an expert!

Now there are just two issues about the program,
why the need two have to keep going into the help
menu to press "keep testing"? is that a necessity?

-Marc

If the program is asking you this, there is a reason for it. The Donationware version itself has its keys included. Thus there is no need to insert any different access key. And so that message would never come. But there is an additional improved engine for real donators. They will get a different necessary personal key set sent if they want to use the bonus engine.
If you get the "keep testing?" message, something has gone wrong, e.g. you have installed into an old existing version's folder, what should be avoided. Then Smirf is answering (badly) immediately - nearly without any thinking at all.

Also the screen does blink, it's not a real big deal,
but after awhile it does become a distraction.

-Marc

Same reason like stated above. Simply install SMIRF into a NEW folder. It should work correctly then (32 Bit Windows only).

It looks like you are drawing the image on a bitmap,
or are you using a TPaintBox at all?
If you are creating it on a Bitmap and then drawing it
to the form canvas, I don't see why it should blink. hmm...

-Marc

Already earlier I have answered to that question. The picture already is buffered. Thus I do not understand that effect.

But these are minor issues the game is very enjoyable, it's a
great chess program.  good work.

-Marc

SMIRF will be contiunously improved from time to time. Actually it is not yet able to become the 8x8 world champion, may be in 10x8. Simply install SMIRF correctly and you will have even more fun!

Regards, Reinhard.

31

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: July 04, 2006, 01:09 AM »

Hi, Chess960 and 10x8 Chess fans,

today I have placed a newly improved chess engine for download at my site.

Moreover I try to finish translations of added documents into English language.

Regards, Reinhard.

32

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 16, 2006, 02:19 AM »

Hi SMIRF fans!

Now when there is also a German language update 2 to Borland Developer Studio 2006, I have placed a newly improved and recompiled beta version of SMIRF Chess at my site.

Regards, Reinhard.

33

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 09, 2006, 03:10 AM »

Hi Martin, all the best to you and Australia (just heared about a mining rescue wonder)! I just had started your chess playing program. It is fine that its GUI is fully resizable, a feature still missing in SMIRF. How to use it exactly, still is not quite clear to me. Probably there have to be other participants. Also my firewall seems to be an obstacle. Good progress to your project! Reinhard.

34

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 05, 2006, 10:17 AM »

All I do at paint is:   PbxBrett->Canvas->Draw(0, 0, BmpBrett);

35

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 05, 2006, 07:05 AM »

... as long as you double-buffer and do a single blit to the "primary surface".

That is (so I hope) what I do. But it obviously sometimes is not sychronized with vblank.

May be, someone knows a trick to solve that problem ...

Reinhard.

36

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 05, 2006, 06:29 AM »

Do you trap the WM_ERASEBKGND message?

-f0dder

This sounds interesting. I never had trapped a Win message in Borland C++. Could you assist me with a link to an example for this?

Since the graphic is a TPaintBox only and not the whole client, it might be an idea to delay the real picture transfer to that erase event.

Reinhard.

37

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 05, 2006, 01:26 AM »

it does a little blinking when the computer moves..

Well, mouser, I noticed that too, but I have no idea how to synchronize paint with a vblanc phase or to avoid that flickering anyway else. Actually the picture is drawn buffered and then copied at any paint event.

Reinhard.

38

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: May 05, 2006, 12:22 AM »

Hi, are there already any SMIRF test users? Have there been any installation problems? If or if not: at which MS Windows OS?

Regards, Reinhard.

39

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Which Builder Version ?

« on: April 29, 2006, 07:58 AM »

Is the contest participation limited to a special Borland Builder version e.g. BDS 2006 ?

Reinhard.

40

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: April 25, 2006, 02:28 AM »

Hi, there is a new SMIRF version setup now also including the file "borlndmm.dll".

41

Living Room / Re: OK - lets get to know each other... who are you, what do you do, where from?

« on: April 20, 2006, 02:19 PM »

Well, my name is Reinhard, I am from Munich, Germany, and I started my fight "man vs. machine" in my very early days.



I hope, for 10x8 chess to become more popular some day, and my multivariant program SMIRF to play it well then.

Reinhard.

42

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Learning C++ Builder

« on: April 19, 2006, 10:34 AM »

... the CodeCompletion ...

-Shed

Well, that does not help to locate the code of the to be found function. Because I do not have all those names exactly in my head, I am used to walk through an alphabetically sorted list of all methods, to finally navigate to a desired code block. CodeCompletion is not usable to solve that common kind of working within a big solution.

Reinhard.

43

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Learning C++ Builder

« on: April 19, 2006, 10:27 AM »

... i think smirf was asking ...

-mouser

The problem seems to be, that some basic functionalities seem to have vanished since upgrading from BCB6 to BDS2006. So I was asking for to help me how to use them again, thinking that I may have not fully understood, how to use the new Borland Developer Studio correctly.

The mostly missed abilities of the IDE are, how to insert assistedly new to be self written procedures, and how to list existing methods alphabetically. It seems for me, that those abilities have been shifted to the Together functionality e.g. in the Delphi personality. But, because of that this is not present in the C++ personality, those components seem to have completely vanished without any substitute. Am I right? Or what to do otherwise?

Reinhard.

44

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Borland Developer Studio 2006 Update 2 is now available

« on: April 19, 2006, 01:29 AM »

You can find an article on this at: http://community.borland.com/

Unfortunately I cannot benefit from this yet, because the German language version still is not supported.

Reinhard.

45

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Learning C++ Builder

« on: April 18, 2006, 09:27 AM »

a) how to assistedly insert new methods, functions, properties or variables?

-SMIRF

MediaPlayer Component....

-Shed

An existing component is very different from a to be created function or method.
In BCB6 that task has been easy to be done, but how to do it now in BDS2006? That has been the question.

Reinhard.

46

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: April 12, 2006, 07:16 AM »

Some more details on SMIRF:

variabel cache size, optimal move-pair iterative deepening, diff. time settings, analyse mode, PGN and X-FEN interface using clipboard; graphic export possibilities (also at 72% size), customizable colors, comfortable position editor, drawn or willful input of CRC and Chess960 starting arrays, automatic saving of last enviroment state, TMCI protocol engine as separated DLL; multilanguage GUI in German, Englisch, French and Swedish.

Regards, Reinhard.

47

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Learning C++ Builder

« on: April 11, 2006, 05:14 PM »

Well, there are some questions, where I am not sure, how to act correctly within new BDS2006 compared to BCB6:

a) how to assistedly insert new methods, functions, properties or variables?
b) how to have listed functions ordered alphabetically?

Regards, Reinhard.

48

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: April 11, 2006, 06:50 AM »

... But please edit your post on the beggining of the tread ...

-jgpaiva

I did this already, but I have not been able to delete attachments.

Reinhard.

49

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: April 11, 2006, 06:21 AM »

Now an always actual SMIRF download (1.7 MB) could be found at my page: http://www.chessbox.de/Compu/schachsmirf_e.html

50

Borland C++ Builder Contest / Re: Entering SMIRF 8x8 + 10x8 Chess Program

« on: April 10, 2006, 02:47 PM »

Nice to see your entry, Reinhard 

-f0dder (April 10, 2006, 02:30 PM)

I hope not to be the last one, entering a piece of software at this contest.

A new question is, how to find the correct category for SMIRF Chess: 'Large Program' or 'Game or Diversion' ?

Reinhard.