Checkers

[BlitzJoker]

Me and zz had some jolly fun playing checkers tonight. I really do enjoy the game, although i strongly prefer the traditonal red/black color scheme(i dont think red/yellow goes together). We noticed two very very bad things about it.

A.-When your turn runs out you lose the game?!?! This is very bad because checkers is a game of thought, many people get lost in thought and run out of time. When this happens a random piece should be randomly moved.

B.-A game is drawn when one person has no movement. In a situation like this the player that can't move should lose.

Here is a pretty screen shot taken by zz himself. He also said "make sure you put that I am yellow and you were red "

Also is there anyway to make the checkers graphics smoother, just wondering?

[matlu]

A.-When your turn runs out you lose the game?!?! This is very bad because checkers is a game of thought, many people get lost in thought and run out of time. When this happens a random piece should be randomly moved.

Ok, I can do it this way. (Although I believe, that in 'serious' game, when random piece gets moved, mostly it leads to your defeat anyway, unless you are very very lucky and the move was good)

B.-A game is drawn when one person has no movement. In a situation like this the player that can't move should lose.

- yeah, but you forgot to mention what SHOULD happen. I'm not sure about this, I will read some official tournament rules to clarify it
<edit> sorry, did not read your post properly Hm, ok. I will consult tournament rules anyway

Also is there anyway to make the checkers graphics smoother, just wondering?

Not really sure what you mean. Try to exxplain. But answer is probably 'no'

[BlitzJoker]

Well i think you miss read it but I did say what should happen  "In a situation like this the player that can't move should lose."

What i meant by the smoother graphics is that they seems a bit etchy, just wondering if it was possible to make them more rounded-edged looking?

[matlu]

Well i think you miss read it but I did say what should happen  "In a situation like this the player that can't move should lose."

ok ok, I edited my reply, sorry It's too early, my eyes are not yet fully open

What i meant by the smoother graphics is that they seems a bit etchy, just wondering if it was possible to make them more rounded-edged looking?

It's not easy. 3d engine is self-made. The body of checker is very smooth (gouraud shaded), only top side is 'etchy'.
That's because it's hard to do texture mapping on circle. There is fake square face on the top, which is just textured with picture of circle (with transparent parts). It is same texture, as you can see in top left corner of the screen.
This fake square/circle textures is source of these irregularities.

BTW it should be possible to post screenshots as attachment, you don't have to upload them on geocities (but there is some size limit)

[matlu]

B.-A game is drawn when one person has no movement. In a situation like this the player that can't move should lose.

Ok, I've read official checkers rules, you were right, player who cannot move should lose. I'll fix it

[zozefup]

I'm the Ex Illinois State Champion in checkers   .  The colors are not suppost to be red and black, thats only in wal-mart.  The true colors are red and white checkers with a green and tan board.  The pieces go on the green squares.  Also, the darker color is suppost to move first (usually red moves first).  Yes, in a tournament, a random move would most likely result in a loss.  I'm not a fan of time limits at all in checkers,  msn does 5 minutes per move, and I don't think thats enough.  I don't know what you should do about the time limit problem. 

I've only played 1 game of checkers here, but I didn't notice any problems besides the colors.

I have alot of ideas about making a good checker game if your interested.

[matlu]

thank you. I would not bother with colors, this is not an official tournaments. I think the colors are suffecient for the purpose.

"random-move-when-out-of-time" feature is already implemented. Something has to happen when you run out of time.

I have alot of ideas about making a good checker game if your interested

sure I am. Any ideas are welcome.

[Bakster]

I'm not a fan of time limits at all in checkers,  msn does 5 minutes per move, and I don't think thats enough.  I don't know what you should do about the time limit problem. 

It's just a friendly game, not like a big tournament final. Chess is also limited to one minute a move. I am a dedicated chess player as well, but I'm not complaining.
I'd rather have maybe 10 minutes a move, but then the games would take too long, and the opponent can 'cheat' by just sitting there for 9 minutes and 59 seconds every move.
The best idea is to be able to set the time limit when you create a game.

[zozefup]

I meant the problem about what to do when someones time ran out.  I didn't mean there should be 10 minutes per move.

[BladeSabre]

You could do it like real chess-clocks, where each player has a total amount of time for all their moves, and they lose if it runs out.

[zozefup]

I was thinking about building my own checker site when I learn how to program.  Some features I was going to have were: a numbered board, a list of all the moves that have been made on the side of the screen, beside each move thats been made, the computer will tell you the move it thinks is best.  Also an undo move feature, a way to set the pieces in any position before you start (that would be non-rated of course).  A random three move option, the first three moves would be made for you.. like in tournaments.  I a few other ideas, including a basic layout for what everything would look like written down in a notebook somewhere.

I already have a checker program that would tell you what the best move is too.

And there was an error in the spell check when I tried to spell check this post too.  When I would click change,  it would put the changed word in the wrong spot.  It's not a big problem, I just thought I'd let you know.

[zozefup]

I like the time idea too.  Maybe if you make a move in under 5 seconds you get like a 3 second addition to the total time.  That would prevent someone from not accepting a draw and making you run out of time.