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        Arimaa >> General Discussion >> Notation Change
        
(Message started by: omar on Jul 30^th, 2008, 8:38pm)

Title: Notation Change
Post by omar on Jul 30^th, 2008, 8:38pm

I've started to take the first steps to change the notation to use 'g' and 's' instead of 'w' and 'b'. It's going to be a lot of work to change it through out the site pages and programs. The first step was to change the official notation page.
http://arimaa.com/arimaa/learn/notation.html

Newer software should accept both ways of specifying the colors. Older software should also be converted to accept both ways of specifying the color.

Documentation or display intended for humans should begin using the new notation as soon as possible.

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 4^th, 2008, 6:36pm

Thanks for getting this on the agenda, Omar. It's worth something just to have the "official" notation be 'g' and 's', even if it isn't implemented anywhere yet. Maybe my book will be the first consistent use of the new notation. ;-)

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by aaaa on Aug 5^th, 2008, 12:28pm

Does this also mean that all the games in the archive will be changed?

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by mistre on Aug 5^th, 2008, 1:03pm

Regarding notation - could the letters and numbers be added to the sides of the gameboard on the client in Plan and Expert mode?

I think this would make it vastly more simple instead of having to visualize the notation each time you look at a move.

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by omar on Aug 7^th, 2008, 2:02pm

on 08/05/08 at 12:28:00, aaaa wrote:

Does this also mean that all the games in the archive will be changed?

Maybe eventually, but not right away. First the programs need to be changed to accept the data both ways.

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by omar on Aug 7^th, 2008, 2:06pm

on 08/05/08 at 13:03:14, mistre wrote:

Regarding notation - could the letters and numbers be added to the sides of the gameboard on the client in Plan and Expert mode?

Good idea. I've made a note of it.

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by BlackKnight on Aug 7^th, 2008, 7:44pm

And maybe also the directions N,S,W,E?

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 8^th, 2008, 10:07am

These are also considerations for the boxed set. It is not very attractive to have the letters and numbers along the sides, and potentially even worse to have N, E, S, W around the outside. But the "ugly" notational aid is extremely handy when you try to record a game or talk about it. Omar, if you go to the U.S. Open this weekend, I'll bet you'll see almost all the boards have coordinates printed on them, so the players can record their moves as they play. Only the elite (who use notation to talk fluently about lines ten moves deep with no board even present!) can play on unmarked boards.

Maybe the ugliness of having letters for cardinal directions would be less if it were worked into the interior of the board itself? No, probably not. :(

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by jdb on Aug 8^th, 2008, 12:07pm

Chess boards mark the ranks and files to cut down on errors recording moves. Seems strange to me to make a set without markings.

Title: Re: Notation Change
Post by BlackKnight on Aug 8^th, 2008, 12:32pm

When replaying Rat's games I like to watch the game from her side, which means I flip the board when she played silver. While trying to improve the bot, I let her recalculate all the moves but sometimes get confused with the orientations, because I always imagine a map with North at the top. I don't mind about the letters and numbers though, but I can confirm that it can be extremely difficult to replay games of my chess kids even if they have the letters and numbers along the sides.

Some board games have a wind rose in some corner or in the background which can actually look pretty nice.