I recall the run up to the release of Chessmaster 11, the Chessmaster development team posted a questionnaire online for folks to fill in and I and many did indeed fill it in. It was like a forum post and we could read each others suggestions. One thing i remember seeing a lot of calls for was a proper Battle Chess pieces set to play with.

After viewing information on the new Chessmaster 11, I am very sad to see that this request was not taken on board. Why what this ignored? A lot of folks asked for it and the closest we seem to have got is a chess set using the rabbits from the Rayman game which just doesn't cut it. Want I want to see is a proper battle chess set along the lines of the figures of the old Amiga Battle Chess game, not this cartoony rabbits set.

Since this requested chess set has not appeared, I'll stick with Chessmaster 10. Should Chessmaster 12 finally deliver in this field, you'll get a purchase here.

Yes, there were requests for more animated sets much like Interplay's "Battle Chess". If I remember right, there were even some requests for animated sets that were -- well, let's just say if those requests had been granted, Chessmaster 11 would come in a plain brown wrapper and be sold only at sleazy adult bookstores...

Obviously, not all requests can be granted. Many here (myself included) have mentioned that while there are some new things in Chessmaster (such as correspondence chess, chess variants, mini-games, new tutorials, new sets, famous games, and a new dual-core version of TheKing), it was more like an update rather than a new release. But that's the way it is. C'est la vie.

I will still argue that while animated sets are nice, those who use them are more interested in seeing the pieces interact, rather than play a proper chess game (at least, that's the way it was for me when I had "Battle Chess").

Come to think of it, I can't name one modern chess program that offers what you want, which shows that the majority of people don't care about animated sets.

So, I guess you'll have to get the Amiga out of the basement, and enjoy the original...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KHollister,

Hi KHollister.

Thanks for the prompt reply, much appreciated. You are correct when you say that animated Chess pieces are not really in high demand, but I do remember that long post asking us users what we wanted in the next Chessmaster and a lot of folks did ask for a proper Battle Chess set.

I agree with you that when playing Chess, I'm more into the game itself then watching the figures bash each other up, but it would certainly have been a welcome adition and to have it up to date would have been great. I am a huge Chess fan and I do play it for the game, not to see the pieces attack each other, but sometimes it's nice to switch from the static board to the interactive one for a few games and a bit of fun.

Ideally, what I would love to have is the Chess pieces from the first Harry Potter film. Now THERE was a Chess set! It was vicious, evil and cool!! I loved it!!

Anyway, being a Chessmaster 10 owner, there isn't enough in Chessmaster 11 to entice me to buy it. Hopefully a proper Battle Chess set will be implemented the next release.

I imagine that the licensing fees that Ubisoft would have to pay for a Harry Potter set would be quite outrageous, which would increase the price of the you and I would have to pay. I don't think many people would pay $10 - $20 more for that. More than likely, it would cause many Chessmaster users to switch to other chess software - not a good thing for Ubisoft!

As for Battle Chess, Interplay is emerging from bankruptcy, so who knows? Perhaps soon you'll be able to buy an updated version of Battle Chess.

Personally, I'd rather have Josh Waitzkin's tutorials, though...