Just saw CM11 on a store shelf, and thought I'd pop in to ask people's opinions on it.

I've always bought new installments of the series since CM7000, but I've been boycotting Ubisoft games ever since CM10, with it's disasterous on-line play, and the way it was - or rather, wasn't - handled.

The tutorials in CM10 were great, and it sounds like that's the strong point of CM11 as well, but what about on-line play? Has there been any improvement from CM10, or is it just the same buggy thing recycled?

I remember that in CM10, when the game was released, you could actually use the chess assistant (or some such tool) in rated online games! When they got enough complaints about it, they removed the option in a patch, which also introduced some bug fixed for online play, but they failed to make that patch manditory, so as a result, everybody who was rather fond of having assistance in their rated games would simply not patch up. This of course affected everybody, and the bugginess continued. Rather than doing anything about it, Ubisoft seemed to abandon the game totally - for months user requests and complaints were ignored. Which kinda angered people further, and thus my reluctance to commit my money to anything by Ubisoft anymore.

I trust there's nothing as bad as that with CM11 online play? No assistant features available to be used in online rated games surely? Is customer support responding to people or are you met with a stony silence?



What about the AI of computer opponents - does CM11 actually try to emulate human-like play with it's lower ranked personalities, or is it the same "Kasparov for a few moves, completely random idiocy for a move, and then back to Kasparov" that it seems to be in CM10?

So, worth buying or no?

Well, most people (myself included) have said that Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition (CMXI) was more of an update rather than a new version. TheKing now supports dual-core processors, and there are some improvements in the tutorials. There are also chess variants, althought they're only available for online play. Unfortunately, Some bugs still remain (such as in the drills locking up).

Online play is better than with CM10, but I have heard of some issues. What's new is Correspodence Chess games, which I really like. The bad thing is that CMXI uses a different protocol than CM10, so if you want to play someone, they also have to have CMXI.

While there have been some updates to CMXI, for the most part, Technical Support has not improved much.

I haven't had a problem with personalities; but I've heard others say the same thing you have.

I would say that it's worth buying, but please keep in mind that I have a small bias...

To read a good (totally unbiased) review, check out the following:

http://www.gamesquad.com/index.php?option=com_articles&id=8&pform=&aid=182

Hope this helps!

Thanks!

Read the review, and I don't think I'll be buying CM11 - it just doesn't seem worth it. One new Josh tutorial, dual-core support, correspondence chess (without e-mail notifications, on a server lacking players and buggy), some expanded database features... well, those are all nice but not really worth the cost of a new game.

Had they released a special "upgrade" for owners of CM10, at half the price of a full game, well, then I'd probably buy it, but as it stands, I think I'll check back when CM12 comes out.

Well, you might have to wait a year or two. A new release comes about every two or three years (Chessmaster 9000 was released in 2002, Chessmaster 10 in 2004, and Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition in 2007).

I am surprised that the price has dropped so quickly... when CMXI was released, it was $40 USD. Not even a year later, it's $20.

Oddly enough, I went to the store yesterday, and saw copies of CM10 and CM11 side by side... both for $20!

In a software company like Ubisoft with hundreds of games to develop, release and support, an "off-fashion" title like CM11 is surely a step child of a step child of a step child ...you get the idea.

The entire game industry has been focusing on FPS shooting (Doom, Quake, FarCry, HalfLife ..) for many years, and it will continue for many years to come.

It is not a surprise that people are more violent, and drawn to physical appearance and muscle, instead of intelligence.

You go talk to any high school kids, and whom do they prefer to date? The football captain with big arms? or the quiet straight A student with shy smile?

The answer is obvious my friend, and that explains why it takes 2 or 3 years to get a new CM release, when the work is nothing more than 3 to 4 months for a single software developer. Meanwhile, new FPS titles are popping up every month, if not every week. Quite honest they are simply the same --- monsters, bloods, big guns, what's new?

BTW: I have both Fritz 11 too, which has a stronger engine but the interface is absolutely horrible comparing to CM11.

It's sad, but understandable. Ubisoft's top priority is making money, and there's more money in shoot-em-up games.

That's life, I guess...

I'm glad to see I'm not alone in my assessment of Fritz... good engine, horrid UI.

quote:

...it just doesn't seem worth it. One new Josh tutorial, dual-core support, correspondence chess (without e-mail notifications, on a server lacking players and buggy), some expanded database features... well, those are all nice but not really worth the cost of a new game.

I recently bought it online for a paltry $20. The dual core support alone was worth it for me.

I also like the ability to maximize the chess board on one monitor while placing all of the informational windows on my second monitor.

I find it very difficult to understand how anyone can say Fritz UI is inferior, I find it as flexible as all the CM series, however I guess that's just an opinion, surely we buy this software to compete with human opponents, and this edition, on my most frequent visit had 1 other person online (who didn't want a game). So I returned to play at Fritz, 3,645 players online got a game is 10 seconds, CM is like a restaurant that looks great, has the best chef in the world, but is situated on mars, nobody wants to go there.

Most people (myself included) would agree with oldyellowcat's opinion that Chessmaster has a better UI...

It is a huge error to assume the premise of all chess software is to "compete with human opponents". The primary purpose of chess programs is training and analysis.